:confused: Hello,

I live in Mississippi. I work in Tennessee and my corporate office is in Georgia.
I just told my company that I am 2 months pregnant. I was wondering if there is a law that they can not fire or lay me off because I am pregnant?
Or would they have to have a specified reason - lack of work?
What state would I be referred under with my pregnancy? The state I work in? live in? or the corporate office is in?
Please enlighted me.

Thank you,

Jamie T.

Federal law says that you cannot be fired BECAUSE you are pregnant.

However, being pregnant does not mean that you cannot be fired AT ALL. Yu can still be fired for any reason that is unconnected with your pregnancy.

While you can be fired for any reason unconnected with your pregnancy, the reason has to be real and not manufactured. Many employers have tried, for example, to fire a pregnant employee with the claim that there isn't enough work, but they have turned around and hired a replacement right away. In such a situation, the untruthful reason is called a "pretext" and can be used against the employer to show intentional discrimination in a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit. The lesson here: don't accept an employer's reason for firing at face value if it does not appear to be truthful.

If you did need to sue your employer, you generally sue in the jurisdiction in which you worked. Title VII allows you to sue your employer in the state where the employer has its headquarters, but only if you can't sue for legal reasons in the state where you worked. Questions of jurisdiction and venue can get complicated, so you may need to talk with an attorney about it.

Cynthia
www.worklifelaw.org

*The foregoing is provided for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.*