How much should I ask for pregnancy discrimination?
Im in Michigan, filed a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit, FMLA lawsuit against employer….the judge recommended we try to settle out of court. I am new to this, my attorney wants to know what I believe is a reasonable offer. What would a reasonable offer be? I am out over 18000 back pay and promotion pay….the rest would be my emotional distress etc…
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4 Responses to How much should I ask for pregnancy discrimination?
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Isn’t your attorney familiar with settlements like this? Start high because when the other side starts negotiating, they’re gonna want to grind you down. If you start out too low, you ain’t gonna have jack left.
Here are some pregnancy discrimination settlements when sued by the EEOC.
$88,000 http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/12-23-10a.cfm
$22,500 http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/11-5-10a.cfm
$60,000 http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/10-7-10.cfm
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It sounds like your on the right track. By being trying what seems to be a reasonable approach, instead of asking for millions, you help ensure that the employer will be more willing to settle and should it go to court it’s more likely you’ll win.
A few things to note should this go to court. First, in my experience, the judge usually recommends settlement in situations where private citizens are filing a suit they aren’t likely to win. It gives them the opportunity to get something rather than nothing. Businesses typically have the money to defend against such suits and don’t need the protection of the court. Second, back pay is money they owe you for work already done. This doesn’t sound like the case as I wouldn’t continue to work for someone who owed me $18,000 for services already performed. It sounds more like your trying to claim wages you WOULD have gotten had you continued to work there for the next several months to the next year. Depending on your employment agreement and state laws you may not be entitled to this. Third, promotion pay is not something that you’re entitled to as there’s no way to ensure you would have been promoted, despite any guarantees made to you verbally. Finally, most states do not recognize pregnancy as a protected field for employment. While it’s illegal to discriminate against women, it’s not necessarily illegal to discriminate against pregnant women. It mainly comes down to whether or not you were still capable of performing your job at the same level as you did when you weren’t pregnant.
I hope you get a decent settlement and congratulations on the new addition to your family.
I would say use the 18,000 and if you have had to go to therapy for your emotional distress then total those bills up to add to it. personally in my honest opinion I would just settle on the back pay, emotional distress is only done to yourself by worrying over it so how can you really honestly set a price on it?
18,000
+ (whatever therapy bills total)
+(legal fees)
_______________________
Final settlement amount
I’d ask for 25,000. The 18,000 that you mentioned and you can also say that the additional 7K should be a punitive/distress measure against the company. Punitive awards are meant to teach the company a "lesson", you should discuss this with your attorney. You could also say that you feel the 7K would cover any promotions or salary raises over the 9 months.