I have been working for a small Maryland firm for 5 months. I started as PT then after a week of working there I was asked to work FT. I was not given the insurance package until 2 months afterwards however.

I became pregnant right after I started working and told my boss when I began to show (4 months pregnant). Immediately, 1 week after I told him I was pregnant, he began critizing my work, gave me a Counseling Memo, refused to see me when I wanted to discuss his issues stating it did not cohere to his schedule to see me until Monday, and it was Wednesday.

Unfortunately, that weekend (Sat) I was involved in a serious car accident that tolled my car of course I was injured and it was even more serious due to the fact I was almost 5 months pregnant. My doctor wrote in a letter excusing me to further notice. I had my obgyn. write in a letter excusing me for a week. A week went by and I was still in pain, I came in one day and my boss began to question something on my resume and sent me home to get proof. I was so upset, b/c I did not drive in and was still visibly injured and I called in for the next 2 days.

They terminated me stating my continous absense, although I had my doctor's note and I had called in and they also stated that I had voluntairly abandonded my job.

Now they won't release my belongings until I sign a promissary note stating I will repay the extra week of salary they paid me before I was fired stating I owe it to the company. Of course I'm disputing that I quit and I was actually fired and I don't believe I should have to pay it.

This company has only 6 employees and is located in Maryland, is there anything I can do about the wrongful termnination and obtaining personal property and proving I was discriminated against b/c I was pregnant?

Neither a doctor's note nor being pregnant offers you guaranteed protection from being fired. Your doctor cannot excuse you from work. Your doctor can only recommend that you be excused from work. A doctor's note is not, in this case, binding on the employer.

Unless you have a valid reason to believe that another employee, similarly situated to you in terms of job level and approximate length of employment, who had a non-maternity medical condition and missed the same amount of work, would not be fired, I'm afraid you're out of luck.

I'm not saying I think what happened was fair or that I agree with the way the employer handled it. I won't even say I'm not suspicious of the way he found something to confirm in your resume shortly after learning you were pregnant.

But Federal discrimination laws only kick in at 15 employees. I'm not where I can easily look up MD discrimination laws, but if I remember correctly (I may not - someone is free to correct me if I'm wrong) they also use a 15 employee standard. I will verify that when I am back to my source material sometime on Friday.

Unless the MD state discrimination laws apply to employers of six or less employees, your ONLY recourse would be in showing that a different standard was applied to you than would have been applied to another employee BECAUSE OF your pregnancy. And even then I'm not sure where you'd take it since the EEOC will be looking at the 15 employee standard.

By all means talk to a local attorney in case there are any state or local regulations that may help you.

I agree with cbg -- the doctor's note can't protect you from being fired, unfortunately, but this situation does sound fishy and it looks like he was trying to force you to quit or come up with grounds to fire you because you are pregnant.

The Maryland anti-discrimination law also kicks in at 15 employees, but there is a quirk in the law that will allow employees of smaller businesses to sue for discrimination if they are fired. You could also have other claims against your employer, such as infliction of emotional distress, that you can bring regardless of the number of employees the attorney has. If you need a referral to an attorney to discuss that, let me know at info@worklifelaw.org.

I wouldn't sign anything until talking with an attorney, if I were you.

Good luck,
Cynthia
www.worklifelaw.org

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

That is too bad. I think I will try to seek legal advice privately. Thanks! What about not offering me insurance until 2 months after I began working full time? Could I file for that, b/c every other employee received healthcare the month they started working.

It is possible that you could have a claim with respect to the insurance, but it will depend on the facts.

But even if you have a claim, you have to decide if it is worth pursuing. Did the insurance cover your pregnancy? (In other words, were you harmed by the delay in getting the insurance?)

Take your spam elsewhere and buy a calendar while you're at it.

Good one, Hawk. :) I guess the spammer didn't happen to notice that this thread is four years old.

That's okay. The spammer and his spam, or her spam, are gone and will not be back.