Does anyone know if a pregnant woman can be fired from a job? My sister's friend who is pregnant was told they couldn't keep her any longer and was not given any severance pay whatsoever. She is the one who is caring the insurance for her family, so technically, since it's the end of the month, her insurance will run out. Does anyone know if it's even legal for a company to do this?
Any advice I can pass along would be appreciated.
Thanks.
It's definitely against the law to be fired/"let go" BECAUSE of being pregnant. She needs to find an employment lawyer immediately.
Hi Elaine!
I can't really help you with the Employment Termination because Texas is an "AT Will" employer and they can terminate anyone basically for any cause at any time. It is very hard to prove otherwise!
On the Insurance part of it, they MUST OFFER COBRA Insurance for her especially if they are terminating her. They must offer it within 10 days of her termination and 30 days within writing and she has 45 days in writing) to either decline it or accept it. It is a huge bill every month, but it is better than NO INSURANCE AT ALL.
She needs to talk to the HR department and ask about COBRA INSURANCE!! This a Texas Law and it must be offered to her!! I may not be right on the time-frame since my days of employment, but I know that it is a Texas Law and since she has had insurance, they must offer that to her.
Good Luck!
G. B.
She has to prove pregnancy was the reason, and that's hard to do. I have a friend who sued and won over that same thing, but it was a long battle and the lawyer took almost half of the settlement in fees. Still, it's an option. As someone else mentioned, she is definitely entitled to COBRA insurance which will be good through her delivery and possibly a little longer. Then she would have to switch to private insurance.
http://www.weblocator.com/attorney/tx/law/b22.html#txb221300
They cannot legally fire her for being pregnant. If they are doing layoffs and there are several people being released, they cannot play favorites just because she is pregnant either. Also, there are some loopholes when it comes to the size of the company. If it is determined that the leave of the individual will cause detriment to the company as a whole, the employer may elect to have the person go on short term disability and not provide maternity leave.
I can't find the information, but there is something about continuation of benefits for the pregnant woman and her unborn child until she delivers even if the company fires her.
That's as much as I know. Wish I could assist you more! Good luck to her!!!
Jodi
You might just want to have a lawyer draft a letter telling them that you have the intention of suing them based on XYZ. Many times companies don't like the bad press of something like that, and might give you a severance package to keep it from happening. I would say it's worth a try!
If she lives in TX, she can be let go at any time. She would have a very hard time proving it was because of pregnancy. My husband was laid off the day after returning from 12 weeks of FMLA. Unethical, but not illegal...
Well as the others have said it is hard to prove.
I know because this happened to me.
I worked for a small company and they assured me
I would have a job when I came back.
They even sent flowers to the hospital.
I was only given 2 weeks off though,
and I worked 1-2 weeks then they said they
were doing struckure changes.
I know they did this because they didn't
didn't want to lay me off while PG so I couldn't sue them.
FEMA Act is there to protect Preg women but companies tend to find loop holes around it. Most women don't persue it because its hard to fight.
At will or not, they can't legally fire her for being pregnant. I would suggest that they put in writing the last day of employment and their reason for her leaving. She would have to have proof that it's because of a pregnancy. If she has been written up or anything before, then she has no ground to stand on, but she needs everything in writing, and regardless of the state, they are required to give it to you in writing if you ask. She can use that to take to a lawyer. Usually lawyers will consult for free, and she can see if she should pursue it or not. Otherwise, she'll have to use Cobra which I hear is extremely expensive, but I don't know.
It isn't legal for them to fire her "because" she's pregnant, but if they have other, usual grounds for firing, then they certainly can. If they did not have other grounds, then I would urge her to contact an attorney.
Unfortunately, Texas is an "At Will" state and an employer can terminate at any time. Proving it was because of her pregancy would be a very long & tough battle. She is ,however, entitled to insurance through Cobra.
I always thought it was against the law but I'm not sure.
I haven't read it but the law is FMLA (not FEMA)and can be found at www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/. Have your friend look at it very well but I would definitely be seeing a lawyer.
I was very lucky and my company worked with me when I was pregnant.
