Pregnant can they fire me? Ohio Ohio

[Katz]

I work for a small family owned company run by a husband and wife, under 15 employees in the state of Ohio. I work 5 days a week 9-6. I found out I was pregnant and told my employer early January and quickly started morning “all day sickness” I was vomiting 5 to 10 times a day and struggled to get out of bed. My employer told me if this was December he would fire me, but I timed it well and where slow in January/February. He said to stay home till you feel better. Late January he changed my schedule to 3 days a week 12-6. I did this for about a week or two, and then his wife said she needs me in the morning, so I started working 3 days a week 9-6. They told me they will let me do this until Feb 20th the end of my first trimester. On February 16th they fired me for missing days due to the fact I should have been working five days and they counted my absent 2 days every week. My employer complained how much maternity leave costs him and how un-reliable mothers are. After he fired me he told me I could come back and work for him after I have my baby.

[cbg]

In this specific set of circumstances, yes, you can be fired. The company is too small to fall under FMLA, so there is no protected medical leave, and it is also too small to be subject to the PDA (though even the PDA would not protect you from termination, if someone with a non-maternity medical condition who needed an equivalent amount of leave would also be fired).

For very small employers, having one person out frequently can be a hardship; thus they are exempted from some of the laws that might otherwise have protected you. But even if they did (except for FMLA), you can still be fired for missing too much time as long as they don't single out ONLY maternity for firing.

[Katz]

I don’t understand how they can fire without warning. The company cut back my hours to be accommodating, then fired me for the missing time they approved?

[cbg]

They can because there is no law that says they can't.

I didn't say it was fair. I didn't say I approved. I said it was legal.

[Katz]

Ohio’s Fair Employment Practices Act protects the employment status of pregnant women in the workplace. The law applies to private employers with four or more employees, all labor organizations, all employment agencies, and all state and local government agencies. Firing a woman solely for being pregnant is illegal. And once a woman returns to work after maternity leave, the employer must reinstate her the same way anyone else would be reinstated when returning from disability leave. There is no specific duration of time for maternity, however, Ohio Rules require that they leave time be “sufficient.”

It says four or more employees, this wouldnt help me?

[cbg]

But you were not fired solely because you are pregnant. You were fired because of the amount of time you were missing.

I realize it sounds like a subtle difference, but it is the difference between legal and illegal in this case.