Pregnancy discrimination-now they offer me a severance package?
Hello all,
Even though this is supposed to be a happy time in my life…(3 months prego) I have been a victim of pregnancy discrimination by my boss since I announced my pregnancy to her a month ago. She has dealt with infertility issues herself (so I try to be sensitive to her and not speak about my pregnancy, but she has treated me like crap since she found out I was pregnant and has told me that she will not “work around my pregnancy”and that she will not allow for any time off for morning sickness or doctors appointments. I explained that I am not looking for any special treatment just want to be treated fairly. I have worked for the company for 3 years now and have been an excellent employee, she has given me numerous bonus and promotions, and I have doubled my salary in two years. Now, she has been handing off my job responsibilities to others without notifying me, she has terminated my access to many things at work that hender me from getting my work done, and made many mean remarks to me such as you’re getting fat. i can deal with the remarks, but it was the unfair treatment that was unbearable. Recently, I have been so stressed out that I have started bleeding and was put on bed rest for 3 days. I sent the dr note to the office and she said she would not pay me for the time out (even though i am entitled to sick leave) I advised her that she is discriminating against me bcause of my pregnancy. That was last week, so today I came to work and she gave me a termination letter with a severance package of about 10K only if I sign an agreement to waive my rights to sue the company for any sort of discrimination. What should I do? My coworkers said they will back me 100% if I decide to sue because they witnessed it all. however I dont want the stress to harm my baby, and even tho my hubby works, the severance amount is not high enough to sustain my family and I and i dont foresee anyone hiring a prego woman right now. Should I try to negotiate the severance package? I worked way too hard to get where I was and I dont believe I deserve to be treated this way. Any advise will be appreciated. Thank you for reading my post.
Thanks to all who have posted advise! To answer some of the questions, I am in the US, in Virginia. Unfortunately she is the OWNER of the company, and it is a small business so I am not covered under federal anti-discrimination laws but I am covered under state law. I have read many places that it is so hard to actually PROVE pregnancy discrimination, which is what is making me rethink the whole severance package, because what if I go through with suing her and then end up losing the case or being stuck in court for yearrrrssss. But I dont want her to think that what she is doing is right either and dont want her doing this to anyone else at work. In fat, my coworker is pregnant right now, but she is too terrified to tell her because of the treatment she saw me suffer, so she is just going to wait it out until she is visibly showing. It is really just stressful to think about this.
5 Responses to Pregnancy discrimination-now they offer me a severance package?
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This was the first link I came across after searching for the inquiry of pregnancy discrimination. The only difference between our stories is that my boss is male, but equally as cruel. I have also not been offered anything other than silence after my termination. Now with no health insurance, home eviction pending what other options are there but to sue. The only severance package I was offered was that the company would gladly pay for an abortion I will NOT have!
This is discrimination. DO NOT sign anything. Click here to get a consultation with an employment law attorney IMMEDIATELY.
NO WAY!!! Don’t sign anything! 10k? That’s crap! That’s not even anywhere near an annual income! I would tell her that I wanted 3 years annual income or else I’m suing her a**! You have the people that are willing to back you, you have a note from your doctor, you have your previous record at work. She has no right to fire you, or to tell you, you can’t have time off to go to the doctors, or that you can’t use your sick leave for the time you were off. Not to mention the stress she’s putting on you and your baby! Hell no!!
And as far as hiring a pregnant woman, you don’t have to tell anyone your pregnant, I’m sure at 3 months your not showing.
Trust me when I say SUE her. You would definatly end up getting way more money in court if u sue the company than if u took the 10,000 dollars. That’s chump change. Your boss knows this,she knows u can have a big case against the company,she knows that u can sue them out the azz for big money. She discriminated againts u and that isn’t right.
I agree with others who think that she’s only offering you the severance package because she KNOWS that you have a very strong case against her. You could insist on a bigger package or go ahead and sue anyways. It’s something you’re going to need to discuss with the people closest to you who are going to be supporting you through the lawsuit if one were to occur. I also find this sickening…what kind of bitter old hag could treat someone in such a way? I have as much sympathy for women who have fertility issues as the next person, but to take it out on you is just ridiculous! And I would’ve taken some kind of action when she said you were fat, that is definitely harrassment and as a boss, she should definitely know that! Talk about unprofessional…good luck and please do update us about this situation, I would love to hear how it goes.