The government recently clarified that these actions should all be illegal under current law. Others are simply fired as soon as they reveal that they’re pregnant. Some women who requested a change to light duty were denied and ended up miscarrying. In April, a pregnant woman who was working for retailer Pier 1 sued the store, claiming she was also forced onto unpaid leave after being told she could only do eight weeks of light duty. “But they’ve had time to adapt to the 21st century.”Īnd Scates’s story isn’t all that uncommon in other workplaces. “I think that you could ascribe some of to the rarity of women in the department,” Bucci said. Women are uncommon in fire departments, making up just 3.4 percent of firefighters nationwide. She’s seeking unspecified monetary damages for the financial losses she experienced. After failing to work out a settlement with the city through mediation, she’s now suing, claiming all these actions violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prevents employment discrimination on the basis of sex, and the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act. In the end, she returned a week or two after she exhausted her leave. “If she wasn’t forced on that FMLA leave, she would have had another four weeks in which to recover from her pregnancy and come back to work.”

She was “in a sort of precarious position because the FMLA leave had been exhausted needlessly,” he said.

The fire board called her in while she was recuperating to ask why she hadn’t come back to work yet, despite the fact that her doctor hadn’t cleared her to do so. “It’s very stressful for a mother to be… this continuing stress as to whether she was going to be terminated.”Īfter her baby was born, she also ended up exceeding her allotted FMLA leave because she had used up so much of it already. The department “inflict severe emotional stress,” he said, given that after the verbal and written warnings, the next step would be termination. The Bridgeport Fire Department could not be immediately reached for comment.īucci said being forced onto unpaid leave took both an economic and emotional toll. She had planned to work an additional two months. “She really didn’t want to be on FMLA leave, she wanted to save her FMLA leave for when she delivered the baby,” he said. So she was then forced onto unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which guarantees workers 12 unpaid weeks off for the arrival of a new child, just three months into her pregnancy. The department also claims it only allows 30 days of administrative duty. The leave policy, it seems, applies to all “except in what appears to be the case of pregnancy,” Bucci said.

She was out for a few days with morning sickness, but despite the department’s unlimited sick and injury paid leave policy, she was given a counseling, verbal warning, and written warning all at once for excessive absenteeism. Her attorney, Thomas Bucci, told ThinkProgress that after she announced that she was pregnant, she was transferred to administrative duty at the request of her physician. While Deresh alleges in his suit that he told the Blue Cross/Blue Shield customer service rep Bill that he 'was in a pissed off mood' due to not being able to obtain his medication, he asserts he never threatened or verbally abused any of the three representatives he spoke to that day.īlue Cross/Blue Shield allegedly informed the manager of the city of Pittsburgh Office of Municipal Investigations regarding Deresh's alleged behavior, who reported it to the chief at the Fire Headquarters.ĭeresh alleges in June he not receive his promotion to captain due to the investigation into his 'unbecoming conduct,' the suit states.ĭeresh seeks compensatory and punitive damages and is represented by James DePasquale.Regina Scates says the Bridgeport, CT fire department forced her onto unpaid leave two months early after it heavily disciplined her for absences related to her pregnancy. 14 in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas by Joseph Deresh against Highmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield alleging libel.ĭeresh's lawsuit stems from a May phone call he made to Blue Cross/Blue Shield after he was not able to obtain his prescription medication because a temporary hold had been placed on his flexible spending account. PITTSBURGH – A city of Pittsburgh firefighter is suing Blue Cross/Blue Shield claiming he lost his promotion because the insurance carrier reported him and falsely accused him of using foul language, verbally abusing and/or physically threatening Blue Cross/Blue Shield employees during a phone exchange.

Firefighter sues leander healthnut