Not promoted because pregnant... discrimination?

Mrs.Greg · February 2012

So when I was about 7 months PG with my babies, 6 of my co-workers were promoted. I thought for sure I would be at that time. I had more important things to worry about then so I never said anything. Well, I've been back to work for a month and had a meeting with my supervisor and HR to see why I wasn't considered for a promotion. My supervisir is kind of an idiot and quickly answered with "Well, you were about to go on maternity leave....". The HR lady looked like she wanted to slap him. She cut him off and said that wasn't the only reason, there were other factors involved that she couldn't discuss with me. It was so obvious she was blowing smoke. Can they not promote me JUST because I'm pregnant??

Temp6313048411121614 · February 2012

I would contact a lawyer. Not sure if you'll have any "proof" or if it'll just be "he said/she said" but that's definitely discrimination.

LottaLattes · February 2012

Absolutely not, just like they can't not promote you if you get a broken leg. You should ask for documented proof of the reasons you weren't promoted, and for proof that you weren't performing as well as your coworkers (if you don't feel that they were better for any reason). I would also document in detail (send yourself an email at least from your work account and cc a personal account) about the conversation today. They may have assumed you didn't plan to come back and didn't want to bother but that's kind of BS. Good luck!

Temp6313048411121614 · February 2012

LGLDVM:
I would consider it descrimination if they can't give you another reason why you were passed over. I could see if there was a manager-training course that you couldn't attend d/t mat leave, but I would want to be given that information and allowed to choose for myself taking a shorter mat leave or delaying my promotion. I don't know if I would pursue legal action, but I would make a bit a stink about it and hope that they move me up in a reasonable time.

She wouldn't even need to take legal action, but she could at least find out what her options are.

SaraDee83 · February 2012

Sounds like discrimination to me! But I went through somewhat of the same thing. After 5 years of being with my company, I was promised full-time status instead of part-time (I was part-time even though I pretty much worked all year long). Well, I was then pregnant with my daughter. They kept me in the shadows about my full-time status & I was getting really annoyed. Thankfully, my supervisor is awesome & really went all out to keep on their ass for me. I mean, I need those benefits - I've got kids to worry about now! When I found out I was pregnant this time around, my boss told me let's keep it on the down-low & see what happens. So I kept my pregnancy a secret from HR. He pushed & pushed for me some more... telling them I needed full-time status... I needed those benefits & I had MORE than paid my dues. Eventually, I got it. And when the paperwork was finalized I allowed my secret to slip. Well, apparently HR was NOT happy about it... but I felt like that was my little jab for making me wait over a year for something I was promised & rightfully deserved! My boss told me the HR manager immediately went to him & asked him if he knew about my pregnancy - he told her no & then asked why that would matter. She said well, we could've waited to make her full-time. GRR!! I swear, if they had known I was pregnant & prolonged it, I definitely would've sued their ass! Sorry my bringing a life into this world is such an inconvenience to the company!! Unbelievable!!

amanda31H · February 2012

Can they not promote you because you were pregnant....legally, no. But honestly, good luck proving that's why. How long have you been with the company? Were you the most senior of your colleagues? How have your reviews been over the years?

Its pretty damn difficult to prove discrimination, and it doesn't help that do far your only proof is no promotion, a stupid answer from a boss only witnessed by HR,and no emails, etc (anything in writing) to support your claim.

They should have been able to tell you why you weren't though. If they can't, that's a problem.

amanda31H · February 2012

LottaLattes:
Absolutely not, just like they can't not promote you if you get a broken leg. You should ask for documented proof of the reasons you weren't promoted, and for proof that you weren't performing as well as your coworkers (if you don't feel that they were better for any reason). I would also document in detail (send yourself an email at least from your work account and cc a personal account) about the conversation today. They may have assumed you didn't plan to come back and didn't want to bother but that's kind of BS. Good luck!

She's right about documenting your meeting with an email. If you decide to pursue this, you need to IMMEDIATELY write an email back to your HR person and supervisor with the subject of "follow up from meeting of feb Xx at 9 am" (or whatever) and in the body say what your supervisor said about mat leave, and say that HR said they couldn't discuss reasons why. Say something about how you'd like them to review your employee history and offer insight on why you weren't eligible for the promotion so you know what steps to take now to advance your career and work toward the promotion, blah, blah, blah.

tootlebug · February 2012

they cant not promote you just because you are pregnant. but, im sure they will think up other reasons. they know that spending the $$ on a lawyer will probably be more of a financial hardship for you as opposed to them. could you ask them to be considered when you come back for your maternity leave? they could be waiting to see if you actually come back from maternity leave. just a thought....ive had so many conversations about this stuff with my friend who is an HR manager....

snoangel79 · February 2012

They should be able to tell you the "other reason" why not. Sounds to me like the pregnancy was the reason. I would definitely talk to someone about this because it sounds really bad!

Mrs.Greg · February 2012

amanda31H:

Can they not promote you because you were pregnant....legally, no. But honestly, good luck proving that's why. How long have you been with the company? Were you the most senior of your colleagues? How have your reviews been over the years?

Its pretty damn difficult to prove discrimination, and it doesn't help that do far your only proof is no promotion, a stupid answer from a boss only witnessed by HR,and no emails, etc (anything in writing) to support your claim.

They should have been able to tell you why you weren't though. If they can't, that's a problem.

I am a legal assistant. I have been with my office for 13.5 years. There are 5 classifacations - I am currently a 3, 5 is for supervisors only. I have never had to ask for a step increase, I was chosen for promotions from 1 to 2 and from 2 to 3. I work very hard and get great evals each year so this really was a shock to me. Of the 6 people promoted, only 2 have been there longer than I. And not to sound immature but I run circles around most of them. One of the two who are senior to me, I feel she is an incredibly hard worker but all the others are just average.

amanda31H · February 2012

Mrs.Greg:
amanda31H:

Can they not promote you because you were pregnant....legally, no. But honestly, good luck proving that's why. How long have you been with the company? Were you the most senior of your colleagues? How have your reviews been over the years?

Its pretty damn difficult to prove discrimination, and it doesn't help that do far your only proof is no promotion, a stupid answer from a boss only witnessed by HR,and no emails, etc (anything in writing) to support your claim.

They should have been able to tell you why you weren't though. If they can't, that's a problem.

I am a legal assistant. I have been with my office for 13.5 years. There are 5 classifacations - I am currently a 3, 5 is for supervisors only. I have never had to ask for a step increase, I was chosen for promotions from 1 to 2 and from 2 to 3. I work very hard and get great evals each year so this really was a shock to me. Of the 6 people promoted, only 2 have been there longer than I. And not to sound immature but I run circles around most of them. One of the two who are senior to me, I feel she is an incredibly hard worker but all the others are just average.

You know I wasn't accusing you of being a poor employee- right? I was just coming up with all the questions that someone evaluating your case would have. I'm familiar with this to a degree, just from the other side. I had an employee who was a troublemaker and while she was out on maternity leave, I was promoted to manager (we had been colleagues). We had to document everytime really well so she didn't come back from leave and accuse us of discrimination. She challenged us, but we were ready.

Its just hard to prove, and would probably be expensive for you. Unless you email them like I mentioned above and ask for a plan for how to get promoted. That might just scare them into doing it - KWIM?

Mrs.Greg · February 2012

amanda31H:
Mrs.Greg:
amanda31H:

Can they not promote you because you were pregnant....legally, no. But honestly, good luck proving that's why. How long have you been with the company? Were you the most senior of your colleagues? How have your reviews been over the years?

Its pretty damn difficult to prove discrimination, and it doesn't help that do far your only proof is no promotion, a stupid answer from a boss only witnessed by HR,and no emails, etc (anything in writing) to support your claim.

They should have been able to tell you why you weren't though. If they can't, that's a problem.

I am a legal assistant. I have been with my office for 13.5 years. There are 5 classifacations - I am currently a 3, 5 is for supervisors only. I have never had to ask for a step increase, I was chosen for promotions from 1 to 2 and from 2 to 3. I work very hard and get great evals each year so this really was a shock to me. Of the 6 people promoted, only 2 have been there longer than I. And not to sound immature but I run circles around most of them. One of the two who are senior to me, I feel she is an incredibly hard worker but all the others are just average.

You know I wasn't accusing you of being a poor employee- right? I was just coming up with all the questions that someone evaluating your case would have. I'm familiar with this to a degree, just from the other side. I had an employee who was a troublemaker and while she was out on maternity leave, I was promoted to manager (we had been colleagues). We had to document everytime really well so she didn't come back from leave and accuse us of discrimination. She challenged us, but we were ready.

Its just hard to prove, and would probably be expensive for you. Unless you email them like I mentioned above and ask for a plan for how to get promoted. That might just scare them into doing it - KWIM?

I do plan on asking for another meeting to further discuss my "shortcomings". I just met with my supervisor and HR yesterday so I'm going to wait until Monday to e-mail a request for another meeting. I plan to ask that someone who CAN discuss the other factors is included in the next meeting so I can, as you suggested, ask what more I can do to be considered for promotion in the future.

I absolutely didn't think you were calling me a poor worker. After you asked those questions, I realized I should have put that info in my OP.

Thank you for your responses. I apologize if I'm being clip, the more I think about it, the more I really feel it was a slap in the face and it's very upsetting to me. I have never complained to Admin about anyone or anything at work, I have always been happy with my co-workers and the way I've been treated, until now. And I hate feeling the way I do right now.

JosiePosy · February 2012

Just wanted to say, as a former legal assistant also Big Smile

, good luck to you!! I would look into it.

amanda31H · February 2012

Mrs.Greg:
amanda31H:
Mrs.Greg:
amanda31H:

Can they not promote you because you were pregnant....legally, no. But honestly, good luck proving that's why. How long have you been with the company? Were you the most senior of your colleagues? How have your reviews been over the years?

Its pretty damn difficult to prove discrimination, and it doesn't help that do far your only proof is no promotion, a stupid answer from a boss only witnessed by HR,and no emails, etc (anything in writing) to support your claim.

They should have been able to tell you why you weren't though. If they can't, that's a problem.

I am a legal assistant. I have been with my office for 13.5 years. There are 5 classifacations - I am currently a 3, 5 is for supervisors only. I have never had to ask for a step increase, I was chosen for promotions from 1 to 2 and from 2 to 3. I work very hard and get great evals each year so this really was a shock to me. Of the 6 people promoted, only 2 have been there longer than I. And not to sound immature but I run circles around most of them. One of the two who are senior to me, I feel she is an incredibly hard worker but all the others are just average.

You know I wasn't accusing you of being a poor employee- right? I was just coming up with all the questions that someone evaluating your case would have. I'm familiar with this to a degree, just from the other side. I had an employee who was a troublemaker and while she was out on maternity leave, I was promoted to manager (we had been colleagues). We had to document everytime really well so she didn't come back from leave and accuse us of discrimination. She challenged us, but we were ready.

Its just hard to prove, and would probably be expensive for you. Unless you email them like I mentioned above and ask for a plan for how to get promoted. That might just scare them into doing it - KWIM?

I do plan on asking for another meeting to further discuss my "shortcomings". I just met with my supervisor and HR yesterday so I'm going to wait until Monday to e-mail a request for another meeting. I plan to ask that someone who CAN discuss the other factors is included in the next meeting so I can, as you suggested, ask what more I can do to be considered for promotion in the future.

I absolutely didn't think you were calling me a poor worker. After you asked those questions, I realized I should have put that info in my OP.

Thank you for your responses. I apologize if I'm being clip, the more I think about it, the more I really feel it was a slap in the face and it's very upsetting to me. I have never complained to Admin about anyone or anything at work, I have always been happy with my co-workers and the way I've been treated, until now. And I hate feeling the way I do right now.

I totally get it. This stuff becomes personal really quickly.

Luvie13 · February 2012

call a lawyer. its discimination

PianoPlayingSarah · February 2012

There are employment attorneys who will listen to your side of events and tell you if you have any legal basis - for free. If you do have legal basis, they will take your case and not charge you anything unless you receive an award/settlement. It's a contingent fee. Suppose the attorney writes a letter to the company, they promote you and give you $10,000 for their "mistake." Your attorney would take a cut of that $10,000. Possibly 25 - 40%

The fact alone that your supervisor made that statement means that there is an issue. You should be able to demand to see your personnel file - your attorney would request copies of it.

A friend of mine who had twins and was in a situation similar to yours used an attorney and had to pay hourly. It was a nightmare and she walked away taking a big loss on attorney fees and never saw a dime from her ex-employer. Discrimination cases are so very hard to prove and fighting the legal system is very time consuming and not fun.

mrsmac08 · February 2012

Definitely call an attorney. Discrimination cases are difficult to prove, but not as difficult when your boss actually makes the statement to you (in front of another individual) that your pregnancy was a factor.

klr210 · February 2012

Not to sound silly, but in a law office wouldn't they know to watch what they said?

Either way, I am by no means an expert on pregnancy discrimination in all it's forms, but it sounds like it to me. One thing I did when it happened to me was to document and use quotes in the letter I wrote to my boss about why I was resigning. I referenenced our conversation in my letter and submitted it to him. I did my best to record the events as accurately as possible. I would say referencing your maternity leave directly opened him up to a legit discrimination claim.

Just wanted to share from my experience, my lawyer operated as a personal injury one would.. she only got paid if I did. If you want your job and a good working relationship though, I'd suggest recording all details, discussing with a lawyer and if you have a case then having a conversation to ask for your rightful place within the organization.

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Not promoted because pregnant... discrimination?

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