A Bridgeport, Connecticut firefighter is suing in federal court over pregnancy related discrimination.
Regina Scates claims that the Bridgeport Fire Department “refused to accommodate [her] pregnancy and forced her to take leave from her position as firefighter, and denied her fringe benefits on account of the plaintiffs pregnancy” in violation of state and federal law.
The 15 page complaint was filed in US District Court in Hartford on September 26, 2014 and alleges three causes of action:
- Violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
- Violation of the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act
- Intentional Infliction of Severe Emotional Distress.
According to the complaint, the City of Bridgeport provides unlimited paid sick leave to members of the Bridgeport Fire Department, while under Article 14A Section 1 of the collective bargaining agreement, maternity leave is “unpaid leave”.
That is going to be a problem, which the complaint rightly points out: “The provisions of Article 14A, Section 1 treats leave for pregnancy substantially less favorably than leave for non-pregnancy physical disabilities”, which in turn violates state and federal discrimination laws.
Scates also alleges she was wrongly disciplined for her use of pregnancy-related sick leave, and wrongly placed on unpaid maternity leave on account of her use of paid sick leave.
Here is a copy of the complaint. Scates v Bridgeport
Its sad to see in this day and age that there is still discrimination against expecting mothers. You would’ve thought that as a society we’d of moved past all that by now, but apparently not.
I do think the department did the right thing forcing her to rake leave, but it should’ve been paid leave, especially since it was forced, and because they offer unlimited paid sick time for any other sick or injured situation.
I agree with the forced leave because they say smoking cigarettes is very bad for an unborn child, one doesn’t have to think very long or hard to imagine what effects smoking the contents of a house or a car or a warehouse would have on the unborn child. And yes I know we use breathing protection, but usually only in IDLH situations. Once the fire is knocked down and overhaul begins, the first thing to come off is the SCBA, even though that environment is only slightly less dangerous and less toxic than it was before the fire was knocked down.