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A New Baby After Taking a New Job? That Could be a Problem in Ohio
Filed under: In The News, Weird But True
In Ohio, your maternity leave might be permanent. Credit: Getty Images
In Ohio, anyway.
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled this week that companies can fire relatively new employees who take time off for pregnancy.
Justices ruled 5-1 that new employees risk getting fired when they take extended leaves for any reason. It's not discriminating against women to include pregnancy leaves, they decided.
The case came before the court because nurse Tiffany McFee was fired from her job in Pataskala, a town of 10,000 located 22 miles east of Columbus. The Pataskala Oaks Care Center fired her because she took pregnancy leave eight months after being hired. Nursing home policy requires employees to be on the job a year before taking an extended leave.
The Columbus Dispatch reports justices ruled that as long as company policies apply to everyone and don't make distinctions between extended leaves for pregnancy and other medical purposes, employers are within their rights to give pregnant women the boot.
New moms are not faring well with Ohio's high court.
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Just last August, the Dispatch reports, justices ruled employers can fire lactating employees who take unauthorized work breaks to express their breast milk.
Kellie Copeland, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio, tells the Dispatch both rulings punish working women for having children. (NARAL, formerly the National Abortion & Reproductive Rights Action League, is now no longer considered an official acronym)
"This is appalling," Copeland tells the newspaper. "We should be having policies in place that allow people to have children and not lose their jobs because they choose to have a child. This illustrates a major hole in Ohio law. There is no protection for women in this type of situation."
While many businesses are required to accommodate pregnant workers under the federal Family Medical Leave Act, small businesses with fewer than 50 employees are exempt from the federal law.
There's a good reason for that, Tom Tarpy, a Columbus lawyer who represents employers, tells the Dispatch. Extended leaves can cripple small businesses, he says.
"Whether or not a person's unexpected leave is due to pregnancy or a heart condition or a broken leg, those circumstances affect small businesses very differently when you have one-fifth of your work force out on leave," Tarpy tells the newspaper.
Justice Robert R. Cupp, writing for the majority, said the nursing home's policy was clear and objective.
"Pataskala Oaks' length-of-service requirements treat all employees the same," Cupp writes. "Every employee must reach 12 months of employment before becoming eligible for leave. In this sense, the policy is 'pregnancy-blind.' "
The sole dissenting opinion came from Justice Paul E. Pfeifer.
In his dissent, Pfeifer concluded that even if the leave policy was written to treat pregnancy the same as any other disabling condition, it still discriminates against women.
"Pursuant to the Pataskala Oaks employment policy, there was no maternity leave available to McFee," Pfeifer writes in his dissent. "Therefore, her termination constituted direct evidence of unlawful sex discrimination."
Related: Returning to Work After Maternity Leave Requires Balance
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ReaderComments (Page 2 of 4)
6-26-2010 @ 3:20PM
Rebecca said...There are protections under federal law, but you have to have worked at the job for at least 12 months and at least 1,250 hours. This isn't just an Ohio thing, but this is about Ohio law. Ohio employers are still bound by the federal law, but again, that only kicks in after 12 months on the job.
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6-26-2010 @ 3:23PM
maternatura said...If a woman gets a new job and doesn't know that she's pregnant at the time of hire, continuing with that pregnancy could get her fired. If she has a family to support and losing that job would be a hardship to her and to her family, then she should be able to choose to end that pregnancy. Otherwise, the welfare of her family is in jeopardy. That job could be the only thing keeping them from being homeless and on the streets. That Ohio law is another very good reason why abortions should be safe, legal, easy to acquire and at low cost in every state. The same could happen where we all live.
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6-26-2010 @ 3:35PM
LOLOLOLOLOLOL said...Now YOU see what I've been saying....In The United States EVERYTHING is FOR the employer & NOT the employee. There is nothing you can do about it because if you do try....you'll be FIRED. Not to mention.....everyone here is way too afraid to say or do anything about.
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6-26-2010 @ 3:36PM
Sandy said...I agree with Melody and the next comment from Rebecca. It's not just in Ohio...but congratulations if you can even find a decent job in Ohio. They are very hard to find...so ladies...read the whole contract before you hire in no matter where you live.
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6-26-2010 @ 3:44PM
firstcitizenusa said...Another reason to say it is good to be from Ohio...FAR FROM IT!
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6-26-2010 @ 3:44PM
New York said...You sound like a child hating, bitter woman. Giving life is the most beautiful thing anyone can ever hope to experience. I suppose you would prefer an abortion to remedy the situation. Is this what the world is coming to where we have to choose between our child or our job. That is one company I would never want to work for, and I hope I never have to work with anyone who thinks like you.
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6-27-2010 @ 1:22AM
maternatura said...I agree that giving life is beautiful. I am a mother of a grown son. Recently, I had the honor to cuddle the 6-week-old daughter of friends of mine who had tried for several years to become parents. She is gorgeous, there is a place for her and though her parents live in comfortable means, they are by no means well off.
Contrast this scenerio to a woman who finds herself pregnant, but her family situation cannot support another mouth to feed. I had another friend, also married. Both parents worked long hours in restaurant jobs. One daughter was in college and they had a severely disabled 16-year-old son that they'll have to support for the rest of his life. The mother became pregnant and had to make a heartbreaking choice to sacrifice the new life she was carrying for the sake of the rest of the family.
For those who would suggest that she give up the child for adoption, she would still have had to take precious time off to recover that she and her family could ill afford. Also, not all adoptions are good ones. We've all heard horror stories of adopted children who are abused and neglected. Of course, it also happens with biological parents and their children. We don't make it easy for kids to come into the world. Just maybe then more children would be treated better and brought up better when they are wanted from conception and through their lives.
6-26-2010 @ 5:13PM
anniewheelr said...I was a single mom and no this woman shouldn't be given any preferential treatment. Things are hard enough for a single mom without companies being pressured to give women special treatment.
In the end what happens is that single mothers don't get hired at all.
Women have to understand that when they take a job that they have the same responsibilities as a man to that job. While I agree that when you make choices you choose for your family first. You also have to understand the consequences of that choice.
If we want to make it easier for single moms then we need not only daycare but sick child daycare where the facilities are medically overseen by a nurse or physician's assistant with a doctor on call if necessary.
As for this woman, why did she need extended time off? Had she used that eight months she was working and pregnant to plan for what would happen next...she could have lined up child care for her baby and been back to work in a week.
And if she needed more time because of medical issues from the birth then she was treated no differently than a man with an extended leave for medical reasons would have been treated and the rule would be equally enforced.
In other words, either she didn't plan during her pregnancy for what would happen when the baby was born or she was terminated for the same (medical) reasons as a man would have been who was out for an extended time.
Either way, it's not discrimination.
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6-26-2010 @ 3:56PM
kris said...you know the ohio supreme court members are all republican except 1...gee i wonder which one actually gives a crap about women or babies ....
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6-26-2010 @ 4:29PM
Jack McGaw said...A lot of state are called Right to Work, which really means that the employer can fire you with out reason, unless there is a federal law involved. So if she lived in AZ this most likly would have happened, because AZ like a lot of state are that way.
She had to work according to the law for 12 months to get family leave. This is leave with out pay, and means she could get her job back after the time if it was still available. She did not work the year.
Having a heart attack most likly you would be let go. It is not sick leave. Now if you had work there for 12 months and a family member had a heart attack and you need time to help him get back on there feet, you might just be able to get family leave. Remember this is LEAVE WITH OUT pay. Only thing it would do is at the end of the time, if you wanted to come back, they would hire you only if there was a position open. If they had filled your position you might just be out of luck.
Just don't mix apples and oranges, she had not work the 12 month to qualify for family leave maternity leave is up to the employer, like giving sick leave.
Ohio was right. but no matter where you are lucky when you get the job.
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6-26-2010 @ 4:06PM
J said...When men start having babies THEN we will call it equal.
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6-26-2010 @ 4:22PM
mommyof4 said...wow, that is insane! The worst part about this article for me, is not being able to express your breast milk when needed. I have 3 kids and one on the way. I know first hand how terribly painful it can be not being able to pump or feed right away. Let alone, when they get too "full" it just comes out. Totally out of our control. So, what is worse, getting fired for "unauthorized pumping" or trying to work in a soaked shirt? I think that is ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS!!
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6-26-2010 @ 4:38PM
David said...Nowhere does this say you WILL be fired if you take a leave before one year.
It is saying, as an employer you are not required to keep a deadbeat worker that starts working for you and then insists that the world revolves around them and you MUST adjust your needs to fit them, no matter the inconvenience.
If you are an exceptional worker with the qualities a business owner needs, they will likely work with you. But the job belongs to the employer ... it is not your job, you are only entitled to it as long as you are providing benefit to the owner.
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6-26-2010 @ 4:47PM
Q said...This would make sense in a circumstance where a new employee knows the rules and deliberately gets pregnant or knows that they are pregnant when they accept the job. It would also make sense if somebody had an elective procedure. But in the case of this nurse, she gave birth 8 months after she took the job so she mostly likely did not know she was PG. What was she supposed to do, get an abortion just so she could keep her job?
What about somebody who has a heart attack or gets hit by a bus?
Is it OK to kick them when they are already down? Also, are there no temp agencies in Ohio? If a company is small, why can't they let the employee take an upaid leave, and cover the position with a temp?
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6-26-2010 @ 4:55PM
laontour said...No one told this woman to get pregnant. When she found out she should have been up front with her employer and told them. I don't have a problem with her taking 6wks leave BUT she should not expect to get paid for it. One would think NARAL would be happy with this decision considering how PRO Abortion they are, why are they so worried about a woman's right and not the child's? I worked after I had my first son, and while it was difficult I would never have expected milk pumping breaks. I decided to stay home after my son was 2 1/2 and BE a MOM and had 2 more children.
And don't give me the BS that you have to have two incomes...what you don't HAVE to have are the BMW's , fancy house, your kid involved in every dance and sporting activity under the sun and keep up with the Jones's like everyone tries to do. I believe that Dr. Dobson proved it cost less for a mom to stay at home than it does to put kids in day care and work. If you need to work, then start a home based business or work from home. There are lots of alternatives. I have seen the kids of "power" moms and believe me they aren't going to amount to much!
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6-26-2010 @ 7:39PM
LLburn42 said...Laotour
I hate self righteous, preachy, religious bitches like you. What a narrow-minded individual you are!
I work full time and my husband works full time and we are raising 3 children. My husband works a job that doesn't pay much or provide health insurance benefits. If it were not for my job at a major University Medical Center as a registered nurse (in OHIO, by the way, a beautiful state and wonderful place to live-despite the comments made here) anyway if it were not for my job, we would not be able to survive. I drive an 11 year old car, and my husband's truck is 8 years old. We live modestly, don't "keep up with the Jones's"--I cut coupons and shop at consignment and resale shops unless there's a big sale elsewhere. What an ass you are to assume that you understand or know what other's lives are like and impose your ignorant, narrow views on motherhood and family life onto others. I am sure that you are probably a white, middle classed woman with a husband who puts on a suit every morning and have probably since infancy led a pretty secure life. Well that's all good for you, but there are other people out there in different situations that you.
By the way, all my kids are honor students, great kids, well behaved and generally well liked. My oldest just finished the year by getting the highest honor in her junior class at the end of the year academic award ceremony. All my kids are volunteers for the American Heart Association and for the local historical society.
I wonder if your kids are still very young? Try not to shelter them too much--you know, kids from very sheltered families often end up bad--they rebel, have lots of teenage sex and get into drugs and all kinds of problems. (Generalizations and stereotypes aren't so great, are they?)
6-26-2010 @ 5:00PM
Walt said...I live in Ohio and I must admit, we are one screwed up state. This has gotten to be the worst state in the Union to live in, the dealings of the politicians and all. This is just another example of this states stupidity.
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6-26-2010 @ 6:13PM
Lah said...I think that the ruling is unfair because what if she didn't know she was pregnant? So the she would have to choose between either keeping the baby or getting fired? Is it really fair to try to terminate the baby when it's later in the trimester? As I read some of these comments some people make it seem like we shouldn't be having kids because if that's the case just let us all die off now. This has nothing to do with being treated equally or not. I am a single mom who works full time. I even worked till the day that my water broke which happened while I was at work. Regardless of whether I was pregnant or not I worked hard. I was sick and uncomfortable but I went to work everyday and I never expected to be treated any differently. I don't know why places would want to fire someone and then hire someone else and have to train that person. To me it's a waste of time and money. Also you probably already had someone that was a great worker, that is up until you realized she got pregnant. So I guess everyone try not to get pregnant or sick because god forbid you got fired for something like that.
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6-26-2010 @ 5:05PM
Sally Hiatt said...I really feel the law is very fair, especially if the woman knows she is pregnant when she took the job. It takes time and money to train a new employee, and then to have them take off on a long leave shortly after being hired, is not really fair. If they have been there for a long period of time, thats something different, they should be able to have the baby and thier leave. I dont know why you people get so heated up over a difference of opinion. Listen to all sides with an open mind and then say what you feel about it, but to abuse somebody verbally because of thier opinion is really low class.
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6-28-2010 @ 12:06PM
Karen said...Let's face it, Ohio is not a good state to live in. If you aren't rich or famous they don't want you here. I've lived here almost 60 years and have watched Ohio government get greedier and greedier.It is finally trickling down to businesses. If you are young enough to start over I strongly suggest you relocate while you can.
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