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Massachusetts Court Says It's OK to Fire New Moms
Filed under: In The News
Planning your baby registry in Massachusetts? Don't forget to add unemployment! Credit: meemal, Flickr
The Boston Herald reports that the state's highest court ruled in favor of allowing employers to fire new mothers if they take more than eight weeks for maternity leave.
The ruling came after Sandy Stephens, a housekeeper at a small Quincy, Mass. telecommunications firm, was fired after taking 11 weeks off after giving birth. Stephens claims her supervisor approved an unpaid maternity leave that was longer than eight weeks, but when she called her workplace in anticipation of returning there, she was told she'd been fired.
The ruling came despite the fact that Stephens cited a state guideline that advises employers that employees should be notified in writing if their job won't be held for longer than eight weeks. The Herald reports that the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the guideline is not a law.
At least one Massachusetts mom tells the Herald that the ruling will force her to quit her job outright. Natalie Lukasik, 32, of Rockland, Mass., says she will give notice before her Nov. 14 due date.
"They wouldn't hold my position (beyond eight weeks)," she tells the Herald. "There is no pay, there is no maternity leave."
Portia Wu, vice president of the Washington, D.C.-based organization National Partnership for Women & Families, tells the Herald that the ruling is "astonishing."
Massachusetts state law gives women up to eight weeks of unpaid maternity leave, and federal laws guarantee 12 weeks of leave for employees of companies that have 50 or more employees.
Related: A New Baby After Taking a New Job? That Could be a Problem in Ohio
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
8-11-2010 @ 4:04PM
Rob F said...Sad as it is, the reality is that any business values an employee only to the extent that they can use them to make money (either now or in the future). I wish no employee would ever labor under the illusion that her employer is somehow her friend. I wonder how quickly this poor woman would have been fired if there hadn't been a law protecting her for 8 weeks.
I also wish that I was a large client of this small telecommunications firm, so I could call them up and tell them that they had lost me as an account specifically due to this action. That is the only language a business understands.
Reply
8-11-2010 @ 4:29PM
kristian said...I'm so happy to be Canadian. I am expecting my second child and will have a one year maternity leave, paid-$1600.00 per month. So, while that's not much money, it's something. Additionally, my position (or an equal pay position) is legally guaranteed upon my return.
I find it very sad that a nation who prides itself on valuing their citizens cares so little about the smallest ones and the women who give them life. How disheartening.
Reply
8-23-2010 @ 4:29PM
tracey said...I am also glad to be Canadian with the same terms as above. Americans are just so money hungry and work driven. Sure money is great but really at the cost of your children who are being raised in day care.
8-11-2010 @ 5:39PM
Heather said...Just a note the $1600 is not what everyone gets. Everyone gets 55% of thier pay if the employer wishes to top it up they can up to 100%. Some employers do this many do not. You must have worked a certain number of hours before the maternity leave.
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8-13-2010 @ 12:26AM
Joe said...Americans only care before the child in born, after the birth, the child is "on its own".And the older you get the less they care .Come on down. .
Reply
8-13-2010 @ 1:12AM
kristian said...Heather,
You're correct that not everyone will receive $1600 per month; however, we don't all get 55% of our regular earnings. CRA (Canada Revenue Agency, the Canadian equivalent of the IRS) caps the benefit in the forty-something-thousand range. So, one could earn $49k or $89k and still bring home just shy of the $1600 per month figure. It's still far better than the American alternative.
Kristian
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