I was recently terminated via e-mail after having a baby. I do not qualify for FMLA because I have not woked 1250 hours in the past year, however I have worked in this department for 4 years. The reason I do not have 1250 hours is because my son died tragically last year. I have never been late to work, missed a day at work and got a perfect review three weeks before I had the baby. I have followed all guidelines, and trained half of our employees. I am a "PRN" employee which means I do not get benefits, but get a higher hourly salary. After I asked my boss if I could come back to work (after only 8 weeks even though I had a C-section) they told me they were terminating me, and I could reapply to the same position as a "Part -time" employee. As a part time employee I would make at least $7-$8 an hour less. I was told not to clean my locker out, and to reapply for my position and make less money. I work as a nurse, and there is a shortage in my department by 25%. I have never received any paper work, only an e-mail telling me I was terminated. Can they do this? Do I have any right? Bottom line if I had never had a baby, I would never have been terminted.

The bottom line question here is whether or not you would have been fired if you had missed eight weeks because of pneumonia or a broken leg. Under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, you are entitled to be treated exactly the same as if you were not pregnant. This means you cannot be discriminated against, but you don't get special privileges. If any employee who did not qualify for FMLA were terminated after missing eight weeks, then it is legal to fire you. If another similarly situated employee who missed eight weeks for another, non-maternity reason would not have been fired, then they cannot fire you either.

If you believe that your termination is illegal after reviewing these facts, your recourse is to file a complaint with the EEOC or your state human rights commission.

Hi, Hokiern --

Sorry to be late to this thread. I did have a couple of observations.

First, something seems wrong here about how you've been treated. As I have said in response to other posts, too often new mothers return to work to find their jobs eliminated or significantly changed. Some mothers who have faced this have successfully sued their employers for discrimination. Even if your position was not protected by the FMLA, you cannot be terminated just because you took a maternity leave (unless your employer's policy is to fire everyone who takes time off for medical issues, as cbg says). You should discuss the facts of your particular situation with an attorney. If you need help finding one in your area who is knowledgeable about such matters, send an email to info@worklifelaw.org.

Second, although this may not apply to you because you may make too much money, if you had been working full-time and you are available to work full-time but your employer gives you only part-time work, you may be eligible for unemployment benefits. Guidance from the Virginia Employment Commission says: "You are partially unemployed if you are working less than full time for your regular employer because of a lack of work and earning less than your weekly benefit amount." http://www.vec.virginia.gov/pdf/hcintranet.pdf I don't know if you'd meet the definition of "partially employed." And I think the maximum benefit is somewhere around $325 -- you might make more than that, even working part-time, so you may not be eligible. If you are eligible, though, the benefit to filing a claim is that it may make your employer reconsider its actions.

Cynthia
www.worklifelaw.org

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