A woman in another state recently asserted that her former boss, television host Laura Ingraham, discriminated against her when she became pregnant. In fact, she allegedly ended up losing her job because of her pregnancy. She has therefore filed a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit against the TV host and her media company. Anybody in the Bay Area who is mistreated on the job due to being pregnant likewise has the right to seek to hold her employer accountable through the civil court system.
In the recent out-of-state case, the woman asserted that she served as the TV host’s personal assistant for around 16 months. However, when she announced her first pregnancy in 2017, her job situation became difficult. The TV host allegedly became hostile toward the plaintiff and terminated her when she returned from maternity leave. However, the host did allow the plaintiff to remain with the company for three additional weeks before departing.
During the three weeks, the plaintiff was reportedly refused a space for pumping breast milk. She claimed that, as a result, she had no choice but to pump breast milk in a car garage. However, because she could not take lunch breaks, she had to do her pumping when it did not interfere with her job tasks.
According to the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, employers are prohibited from discriminating against women based on pregnancy or childbirth. In addition, reasonable accommodations must be made for these employees. If employers in the Bay Area fail to comply with these laws, the female employees who are discriminated against in the workplace have the right to file discrimination lawsuits against their employers, seeking damages. A successfully fought claim may result in financial damages, or even an order for an employer to make the necessary accommodations for pregnant workers in the future.
Source: washingtonpost.com, “Former assistant to Fox TV host Laura Ingraham sues, alleging pregnancy discrimination“, Keith L. Alexander, April 20, 2018
