Pregnancy Discrimination? (LONG)

[Working_Mom]

(Erroneously posted on 'Other Labor Laws Matters)

I am sorry for this being long, but it is relevant.

When I first told my boss I was pregnant she asked me point blank if I wanted her to throw me down a flight of stairs.

After that our relationship changed. Where we used to be great friends and I was recognized and appreciated for the exemplary employee that I was, I was now cast off and the only attention I got was to get yelled at for one minuscule thing or another. It was so bad that it was noticed by co-workers. I went above her head to her boss and explained what was going on and given a pen and paper. I asked what to do with this and was told I had to make a formal, written, and signed complaint. I explained that I couldn’t do that, that I was getting treated badly enough as it is and if she knew I filed a complaint against her that it would get worse. The Campus Director agreed with saying she understood how she is but her hands were tied without a written complaint.

I was sitting at the lunch table one day with a room full of coworkers and everyone was ‘oohing’ and ‘aweing’ at me being pregnant when the president of the company came up to me and said this, and I quote word for word:

‘I suppose I should congratulate you even though this isn’t congratulatory. This is why I don’t hire women. And if I do, I tell them they can’t get pregnant.’ That was my congratulations and as she started to walk away, she turned around and whispered in my ear, ‘but you know I can’t legally say that to you, right?’

She’s a woman. And a mother.

The further along I got the harder I worked to prove myself that being pregnant was not going to get in my way and the harder my boss rode me. I was constantly taking on more projects with irrational deadlines. Getting yelled at least once a day for nonsense. I kept a smile on my face and got it all done until my fifth month when I had a placenta abruption. I woke up bleeding and cramping and wound up in the hospital. Now looking back I bet it’s due to all of the stress somehow.

After that, my boss changed. He became softer, I think she realized what she had done. Then that wore off and it happened again. More bleeding and back in the hospital. It seemed that I would go to work on Monday, by Wednesday I’d be in the hospital for the rest of the week and everything would be okay. Once I went back to work it would happen all over again. Finally worked suggested I switch to part time. At first I though they were concerned for me, but I feel that they were more concerned with a lawsuit.

See, here’s what I know. The woman who I replaced was pushed out. My boss said she ‘changed.’ She did, she got pregnant, but corporate told my boss they couldn’t fire her because she was pregnant and she was black and that was a lawsuit waiting to happen. But, she was told she could do whatever was necessary to make her not want to stay. They took leads off of her and were shocked when she still was the top rep in the company that month. She finally snapped after having her work several twelve hour days a week they began making her work Saturdays after she was given specific instructions to take it easy as her first baby was born severely premature. So, when I stepped back and reviewed everything that was happening with me, I figured they were trying to force me out as well, except I wasn’t giving up so easy.

After the baby was born, I brought him to work to show him off and while we were there he got hungry so I pulled out a bottle. The Campus Director made a comment about how ‘Mommy must not care enough about you to believe in the magic.’ In an office full of employees no one paid attention because she always makes inappropriate comments like this so she went on. ‘Mommy doesn’t believe in the magic of breastmilk even though it the best. I would breast feed you if you were mine. I breast fed all of my babies. I believe in the magic.’ She really did. I wanted to crawl into a hole and cry my eyes out.

A couple of weeks ago, I was supposed to get my bonus. I called to see where it was and was told that our parent company was ‘restructuring’ the way they did the bonus program and the Campus Director ‘hoped to have it in next week’s paycheck.’ I called corporate and they had no idea what I was talking about that the bonus program hadn’t changed and my Director should have had it in the 8th week of the term’s paycheck as always.

When I decided I was going back to work, I called to discuss the matter and was told my the Campus Director that she didn’t think I was coming back because she didn’t hear from me. I just spoke with her two weeks earlier about my bonus. She then gave the runaround about having to see what needs to be done in order for me to come back. She needed to ‘check with Rita’ which means she doesn’t have a clue what to do and needs to by some time. She also said that she would talk to my boss about scheduling and they both would call me back. Ten days later I decided to call back. The Director is shockingly out of the office and my boss kept telling the receptionist to take a message from me and wasn’t calling me back. After the fourth time I demanded to talk to my boss and let’s just say things didn’t go well.

She also said she didn’t think I was coming back and I said, ‘that’s so funny, Madeline told me the same thing. I wonder why, I never gave any reason for you all to think that.’ She said it was because I didn’t call to check in. Well, I did quite a few times. Even so, I am on maternity leave, I shouldn’t have to. Then she said how she didn’t know she was supposed to call me about scheduling. I told her that the Director said she said she would and she said, ‘well, Madeline told me you called.’ So, what was discussed? Anyway, she said she was going to try to work on a schedule today because she has someone new starting today. Actually she has a couple starting and she wasn’t sure how she was going to fit me in. But she would ‘see what she could do.’ I AM STILL EMPLOYED! FMLA SAYS MY JOB HAS TO BE THERE!

So, she kept trying to get me off of the phone and when I asked again about the schedule she said she would try to work on it. I said I need to know so that I can sort things out with daycare. They need to know ASAP. I can’t just surprise them. So she said she would ‘try to work on it sometime today.’ As she was trying to hang up again I asked if she needed to know my availability and told her that I can’t work Tuesday and Thursday nights because my husband works overtime those nights. She said she would ‘try to make it work.’

Now, I know she is going to schedule me for Tuesday and Thursday nights and when I object she is going to either try to get me to resign or let me go. I also know that daycare can’t take the boys on this short notice and when I have to put work off another week, she’ll do the same thing. I also know, that by the good grace of God, if I actually get to go back to work that every day at work is going to be battle to break me. Just like it was before. Just like it was to the pregnant lady before me. Just like it was to the three people I worked with before I went on maternity leave who are now gone.

I am so upset. I know I am being discriminated against and this is only the tip of the iceberg. There is a lot more that has happened that I have left out, but at what point do I contact a lawyer? What advice can yougive

See your other post,