My wife works for a small company in Michigan, they only have 8 or so employees. She was originally told that they have no pregnancy leave and if she was gone for three days it was considered quitting. Then a part time girl said she would take her spot for six weeks while she had the baby. So we thought everything was fine. Now the girl has got a new job and won't be able to fill in for her. Her boss has now told her that she has to find a new sub herself or he will be replacing her when she leaves. He has also told her that she should plan on being done 4 weeks before she is due. Because he doesn't think she will be able to work past then.

Can he do this? Is there anything that protects the employees of small companies?

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act applies to all Michigan employers and makes discrimination due to pregnancy illegal. (The federal law, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, only applies to employers with 15 or more employees.)

Just as the Pregnancy Discrimination Act though, the E-L Act does not require that a pregnant woman be given special considerations nor does it mandate medical/maternity leave be provided. The question is what benefits/considerations a similarly situated employee in your wife's workplace would be entitled to if they needed medical leave for some reason other than pregnancy? If they would grant medical leave for "x" amount of time to another employee of similar status and seniority, they must do at least that much for your wife.

Your wife's employer cannot make her quit work before she wants to just because he thinks she won't be able to work. Employers who have tried that before have been sued for pregnancy discrimination and have lost.

The question with respect to making your wife find her own replacement is whether the employer has treated other employees with temporary disabilities the same way. Have employees who have been out with bad backs, heart ailments, operations, and the like been required to find replacements? Most likely not, and your wife should not have to, either.

This probably won't be of much real help to your wife in keeping her job, however. If the employer doesn't hold jobs open for others with medical problems that keep them out of work for several weeks, then he does not have to hold her job open, either.

Good luck!
Cynthia
www.worklifelaw.org

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