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Did work related stress lead to miscarriage?

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Query1234

Member
What is the name of your state? California

I let my boss know I was pregnant 3 days after I took a pregnancy test. My boss was clearly not happy as the time that I would deliver the baby would be in the middle of the busy season of my job and there wasn't anyone else that was trained to perform in my position as of yet. My boss was clearly freaked out about this possibility and as a result, I was given the cold shoulder and silent treatment at work where previously, my boss and I had a very friendly and close relationship and had discussed many things together, both work-related and personal. During the weeks after my announcement to my boss, my work environment was in fact a hostile one because of this dramatic change in the work relationship. I felt as if I was kept out of the loop and was placed on a "need to know" basis in regards to my job. Conversations were non-existent other than curt one liners here and there. This caused me GREAT emotional stress. I dreaded going to work because I was walking on eggshells everyday with this person. I did not bring up the pregnancy unless it was brought up to me first. I spoke to my HR rep about the way I was being treated and my fear of losing my job. HR told me there was no way I could lose my job, that the law protected pregnant women and to not worry. HR disagreed with the way I was being treated, in fact truly appalled by it.

At 10 1/2 weeks of pregnancy, I found out I was at a great chance of having a miscarriage. I immediately informed my boss of this as a temp was being trained (yes already!) for my position. I did not receive much sympathy but in fact was informed that until I was more definite about the miscarriage, measures to secure the temp would continue. However, I needed to inform my boss of my progress as soon as possible.

After I miscarried, my boss told me that I needed to be more "forthcoming" about my plans to have another baby. Basically my boss told me that while it was none of my boss' business, my boss wanted me to be up front about my plans for getting pregnant. I was appalled by this and confused at the same time. My boss and I "had it out" where my boss accused me of manipulating "the system" so that prior to getting pregnant, I was aware of how much time off I would get using the holidays and breaks we get here to my advantage. This was NOT true. I had no idea of how long I could take for maternity leave until I spoke to the HR person after I found out I was pregnant. My boss told me that I had played my boss for a sucker because I knew that my boss had great regard for me as a friend/person. That was not true. I told my boss that I had had my first baby around my work schedule and that this time I needed to do what was right for my family and put them first instead of work dictating my life. I let my boss know that while I had great regard and respect for my job, I had to choose my family over work. I also let my boss know that what I planned to do about getting pregnant again and how long I intended to wait before trying again.

Everyone I've mentioned this to has been frankly appalled. They feel this is totally unethical and some say illegal for my boss to treat me this way. Some even think (myself included) that the enormous stress I was under, had some affect to me miscarrying the baby.

My question is if I have any legal grounds for any recourse? I can provide more details if needed. Thank you for your time.
 


Beth3

Senior Member
Yes, that's pretty appalling but no legal boundaries have been crossed. Your boss has been an incredible jerk about all this and why he or she would elect to take your pregnancy as a personal afront is beyond imagining. The boss acting like a world class jerk is not illegal however and you haven't actually experienced any negative consequence of being pregnant or taking leave, such as being terminated, being denied a promotion or raise, being demoted, etc. I do think you should discuss the situation with HR and quite possibly your boss's manager, as his/her behavior is beyond the pale.

As to your miscarriage, you have my sincere sympathies, but I really can't imagine anyone being able to medically establish that the stress you were under because your boss was giving you the cold shoulder was the cause. There are any number of reasons why a miscarriage occurs and it's my understanding that in many if not most instances, why something like that happens cannot be medically determined.
 
B

BeckyW

Guest
Hello.

I am sorry for what happened to you during your pregnancy. The effects of persistent negative stress exposure are sometimes pretty severe, but as the other poster noted, not always legally actionable absent a clear causation nexus.

You may be interested to know that in California there is legislation pending to outlaw workplace harassment much as you described. You can find more information by google searching "campaign to end workplace bullying".

Best wishes.
 

Query1234

Member
Thank you

I appreciate both your responses. Hopefully the tension I feel in the work place will eventually dissipate. I feel however at this point, there are only two options; to quit or to get over it. We'll see what the future holds but at least I know where I stand legally. Thank you for your support.
 

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