job elimination

so i went in to speak to my manager about inteviewing with in the company and they told me my job is being discontinued i have 30 days to find a new job. Hello im 6 months pregnant and only getting 2 weeks severance they wont pay me maternity. the 13 weeks im entitled to.

Re: job elimination

OMG!!! That is horrible!! Can you still interview with that other position?

Re: job elimination

yes but to be honest who is going to want we at 6 months when they know i will be leaving for 3 months.

Re: job elimination

That's so awful!! I am soo sorry! can you guys manage in the meantime for worst case scenario?

Re: job elimination

we will have to.

Re: job elimination

If I was you I would call a labor atty. That does NOT seem right. How do you know they're not letting you go because you're pregnant? Also does your job pay you maternity leave? Or were you going to go on disability?

Re: job elimination

so sorry..thats just horrible..but you should at least be able to collect unemployment for 26 weeks..

Re: job elimination

I would really pay attention to if your job brings back your job two months down the road. I unfortunately was told at my last job that when we hired a girl who stated she was pregnant 3 months into the job that she had to be gotten rid of so my boss total her we were eliminating her job. Three weeks later he told me to put an ad in the paper for a new secretary! Totally illegal and this was a lawyer...i left a few weeks later i was so disgusted!

Make sure you get unemployment that will help and you can spend more time with your little one.

Re: job elimination

Re: job elimination

since my position will be eliminated on nov 12th and maternity doesnt start until january no maternity

Re: job elimination

That stinks... I am sorry. What bad timing!

Re: job elimination

I don't know if they can legally do this. You need to contact a labor attorney ASAP and find out what your rights are.

Re: job elimination

I know exactly how you are feeling now.....This happened to me in January when I was 5 months pg. My company was acquired last Nov and they did some reorganization. I came in one day and was told that my position was eliminated. I was in a panic bc we were closing on a house 2 weeks later and having a baby.

FYI...Your severence agreement may state that if you proceed with legal action you will forfeit your severence. You can negotitate the terms and see what they are willing to give. I'm sure they are aware of the potential lawsuit. I told them that I wouldn't sign the agreement unless the let me keep my health insurance for 60 days after I gave birth. They agreed. My son is 4 months old now and we are still on their insurance until I find another job. In the end negotiating the insurance was the best thing bc I didn't have to worry about all my prenatal appointments, sonograms or the 10K labor/delivery bill.

I was able to collect unemployment for 6 months (there are no extensions), so that helps some.

Good Luck! It might be a blessing in disguise. It was for me bc I hated my job and I was able to focus on my pg and new home.

Re: job elimination

I'm so sorry...that really blows! I would definitely look into this more though to find out if they can do this legally.

Good Luck!

Re: job elimination

I am so sorry. Are any other positions being eliminated or is it just yours? If they can show that the decision is based on business needs and don't plan on replacing your position, at least not right away you really have no case. This is horrible though, I am in HR and as rule of thumb we never terminate pregnant women!

What you can do is negotiate a better package like another poster said. Try to get them to pay for COBRA for at least 6 months and some additional severance.

Do you have any friends who are attorneys? Mayve they could help you write a letter stating your demands. I can also help. Chances are they will work with you the last thing they want is a pregnant woman 6 months contacting the media about being terminated, etc....

Message edited 9/28/2005 9:15:23 AM.

Re: job elimination

my position is the only one being job discontinued. i do not have benefits with this job i changed them over to my husbands job last year. Thank god. the packet says i have 30 days to find a job, i get 2 week severace pay for each year there which i have been there 3 years in march so they are only paying me for 4 weeks then i get 18 days vac/personal which puts me in january when im due. no maternity which this is not stated but i took the day to take in everything going on and am going to take it easy. i want to find out what my rights are here. what a thing to drop on someone at 4pm on a tuesday. so my termination date puts me at 8.5 months pregnant. i will keep you ladies posted on what happens i think im still in shock.

Re: job elimination

If you can't afford an atty I'm sure there are a lot of attys that would take this on pro-bono. This is not right!! Please call an atty. You can try the Suffolk cty or Nassau cty bar association and get a recommendation for an atty. There are laws against this.

Re: job elimination

Re: job elimination

Re: job elimination

thanks ladies. tomorrow i have to go in a perform my job as nothing happened or they can fire me right away so i will put my plastic smile on and do my job hopeing to land something. i'll let u know how things turn out. the baby is kicking up such a storm this morning that i couldnt sleep. shes telling me to get my butt in gear.