Termination Of Employee Post-childbirth Ruled As Unlawful Sex Discrimination

On March 11, 2009, the Ohio Supreme Court reversed a decision of the lower court in Nursing Care Management of America, Inc., Appellee, v. Ohio Civil Rights Commission, Appellant, in which the Supreme Court ruled that the employee was unlawfully terminated.

The employer had a policy that employees with at least one year of service would be granted 12 weeks of maternity leave.

The employee had been with the company for eight months prior to seeking medical leave for complications in her pregnancy. The employee provided the company with a medical note stating that she was to be put on bed rest at the end of her pregnancy and would be unable to return to work until six weeks post-partum.

A week after she was put on bedrest, the employee gave birth. Three days later, she was subsequently fired because she was not considered to be eligible for maternity leave under the company’s policy requiring at least one year of service.

The employee filed a charge with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, alleging the termination was due to her pregnancy. An administrative judge recommended that the charge be dismissed, however, the commission found that the employee’s termination was due only to her pregnancy, and violated several Ohio pregnancy discrimination laws.

The employer then filed a petition for judicial review with common pleas court. The common pleas court reversed the decision of the commission.

After filing a petition with the Ohio Supreme Court, the Court reversed the decision of the common pleas court, since Ohio law provides for maternity leave, not necessarily paid, “for a reasonable period of time”. Although the company contends that any person taking medical leave without serving the required one year would be terminated, the Supreme Court decided that this termination constituted “unlawful sex discrimination”.

That being said, if you have employees, it is important to develop a maternity leave policy that conforms with state and federal laws. Not allowing maternity leave is not an option. Regardless of the amount of time an employee has served, the employer cannot deny maternity leave or pregnancy-induced medical leave.

Any days missed due to pregnancy do not necessarily have to be paid, but it is best to put the policy in writing to prevent confusion.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects individuals from discrimination based upon sex. It law makes it illegal for an employer to discriminate against individuals because of their sex in the hiring or applicants, termination, and/or other terms and conditions of employment, such as promotions, raises, and other job opportunities.

Also, keep in mind that FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) may cover your employees if you have 50 or more employees. FMLA will provide benefits to a person working for your company 12 months or more (not necessarily 12 consecutive months, keep this in mind if you have a seasonal business or have recently re-hired employees—pregnant women may still be eligible for FMLA).

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