Let’s Play Lawsuit or No Lawsuit

A GUIDE TO CIRCUMVENTING POTENTIAL EMPLOYMENT LAW LANDMINES

By Mike Maslanka

Employment law often makes no sense. Because of its counter-intuitive nature, up is down and down is up. So let’s play “lawsuit or no lawsuit” and match our wits versus the law.

Employee gives birth. She is later terminated. She sues, claiming a violation of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. The company asks for the case to be dismissed; after all, she was not pregnant when she was fired. No luck. The court refused to toss the case, saying that she was suing for giving birth, not for being pregnant and the PDA, by its terms, prohibits discrimination based upon giving birth. Result: lawsuit.

Or look at Julia Poucher who worked in Dallas for Automatic Data Processing. She mentions at a company holiday party the she and her husband are considering starting a family. She is later terminated, sues under the PDA and the company tells the court she was not pregnant when she was terminated, so we win, thanks for playing. Not so fast says the court, the PDA covers female employees who are intending to get pregnant and firing them as a result violates the PDA. I guess our parents were wrong: you can be just a little bit pregnant.  Result:  lawsuit.

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