Looking for honest and reasonable guidance here.
I'm end of pregnancy, management was aware.
What are my options? as you can understand not easy to get hired again being pregnant.
13 replies (most recent on top)
Good Luck & God Bless. Get Some Un-Biased Professional Legal Advise, maybe from a No Win No Fee Law Firm. Or Perhaps a Citizens Advice Board, (A UK Thing). Surely if you contact any reputable law firm and ask them, even if they are not in a position to offer some pro-bono assistance, they may be able to direct you t a resource that can help advise you. Sounds Like A potentially juicy lawsuit and certainly a potential PR nightmare for Cisco. I'm no lawyer but I bet that Cisco would be eager to settle out of court. Reach out to others in your predicament, there is strength in numbers.
Expectant mothers can be laid off. However, expectant mothers who are currently on LOA cannot. For example - your doctor deems the stress is too much so you go on LOA before the termination date, you cannot be terminated until after you return. This will only delay the inevitable but at least you can take advantage of FMLA, etc in addition to your severance package.
Actually filing suit for mostly everyone who just got let go in every State and every country affected is the thing any company fears the worst.
The company offers a severance package so as to stop these valid lawsuits.
Get legal advice and know your options don't rely on the web.
It's your family.
I'm in the same boat. 6 months pregnant. It's hard to find a new job knowing you'll go on maternity leave shortly after starting. So disappointing.
anyone can slaughter anything in the forest, but generally hunters with some humanity go easy on the cubs and expecting mothers right? it ain't the law, but its about some humanity.
There is nothing stopping a company from laying off a pregnant employee. Pregnancy discrimination Act applies only if you think you have been laid off instead of another employee(s) just on the fact that you were pregnant. I don't think that was the case here? You are the right person to judge. No one can stop you from going to the lawyers, but please think about this genuinely before wasting a few 100 dollars in consulting fees minimum.
Don't sign the package. Get a lawyer. Contact your state senator. Contact your fed/state house rep.
@pud what?
Pregnant women are entitled to protection under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which prohibits an employer from “discriminating” against a woman because she is pregnant. Now, if you feel there was some discrimination as it relates to the way how your name was added to the list, I think you stand a fairly good chance to sue (or settle). If not, then you are just like everyone else: regular folk, disabled, veterans, minorities, etc...
If you sue and have a decent (not rock solid, but decent) case, they will likely settle... If your case is iffy, they will take it to trial.
I am an engineer, LR-ed in 2015 but wife works for Cisco HR, so I know a tiny bit about this. Finally, take all of this with a grain of salt, it's an anonymous online board so everything you read here should be taken with some serous caution.
Talk to HR directly. Pregnant women should be excluded from LR.
how else are these VPs supposed to earn their stock awards? laying off pregnant women saves the company money. although we might need to promote a few diversity initiatives due to the PR hit
i would immediatly call your insurance and apply for FMLA/ They cant lay off expecting mothers .
Talk to a lawyer before you decide anything. Some professional advice will probably go a long way. Shocked to hear they would do this.
Good luck!