Ok, My first time here. You'll love this. I found out I am pregnant in may :) I told my employer of almost a year and is reaction was "Well thats life" not to happy about my news. After my first appointment, I recieved a doctors note that I should not lift, push or pull things. I worked in a liquor store. I was hired as a cashier. There is a stock boy. One day my boss puts 5 cases of vodka in front of my register and tells me to put them away, they did belong behind the counter. Before I was pregnant, he would put the cases on the counter, I would lift them off and place them on the flore behind me. I told him I am not lifting them. He tells me I never showed him a doctors note saying I couldn't lift. I say I have it at home, and I'll bring it in the next day. He says don't worry about it that he has to check with his insurece company to see if I am a liability. I say do what you have to do. I honestly did not think he was going to give me a hard time. Three weeks pass and I go to work, and everything seems fine. I leave for a vacation on 7/16/05 and his parting words to me are "I'll call you and tell you what the verdict is" (so sorry sooo long)
Week later I get a MESSAGE on my answering machine that with my limited capabilities, he dosen't see me coming back to work, that someone can't be at my beck and call to lift up cases, if I have any ?? to call him. I never called. I went for unemployment. Almost a month later I find out that my U.employ is in deliberation. My ex boss said I was insubordinet, I refused to lift a case of wine, and I was discharged. I told the man handeling my case that it was a lie, that it happened almost 4 weeks prior to my getting "discharged" and it was never brought up again with my boss after it happen.
Finally, my question is what can I do leagally? I was clearly fired because I am pregnant. I actually was going to stay only until my 5th month. That was my comfort zone. With my first pregnancy I worked till 9 months. I am soo lost here. Please help. oh, I live in NY, Albany county. He had 6 employees. :mad:
For the love of Pete, I can't spell tonight. Sorry.

I don't think you can do anything. The federal law that prohibits discrimination due to pregnancy only applies to employers with 15 or more employees and I couldn't find any reference to pregnancy as a protected characteristic in NY State's Human Right Law (http://www.dhr.state.ny.us/hrlaw.html#290)

You may want to contact NY's Human Rights Division in case I missed something but unless that'st the case, I'm afraid you're out of luck.

Don't worry, the New York law does prohibit pregnancy discrimination. It applies to employers with 4 or more employees, and prohibits discrimination based on sex, which the courts have repeatedly held includes pregnancy.

I agree with you that the passage of time between the lifting incident and the firing, coupled with the employer's statements about you potentially being a "liability," makes it seem as if you have been discriminated against based on your pregnancy.

In an ideal world, your doctor would have given you a weight restriction instead of just a general "no lifting" order, you would have given the note to your employer when you first got it, you would have lifted everything up to the weight restriction, and your boss would have found a way to be courteous and lift or have others lift things in excess of your weight restriction. But the world isn't ideal, is it?

All I'm trying to say is that it sounds as if neither of you is entirely right or entirely wrong in this situation.

Good luck!

Cynthia

*Note: the foregoing is provided for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.*

Thanks, Cynthia. Those NY statutes can be extremely confusing in parts and some appear to contradict each other.

Thanks, Cynthia. Those NY statutes can be extremely confusing in parts and some appear to contradict each other.
What about the fact that there is a person that he hired to DO the lifting. I was hired as a cashier. I rang people out, and played their lotto for them. There is a weight limit that I can lift. It is stated in a second doctors note when I went to my second appointment, but it was too late. I was already "discharged"(it was after I got back from vacation). If they wanted a case of wine or liquore the stock kid was ALWAYS the person to get it for me from day one. I hate how these labor laws and discrimination laws are so confusing. On top of that, the jerk is still trying stop me from getting unemployment. Also where can I find the information that says that "New York law does prohibit pregnancy discrimination. It applies to employers with 4 or more employees, and prohibits discrimination based on sex, which the courts have repeatedly held includes pregnancy." I wouldn't even know where to start.
Thanks!!