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Employee fired after she has an abortion, allegedly because of performance issues

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Supervisor’s take-home: A word to the wise: It’s best to always provide one solid, supportable reason for firing a member of your crew. Shifting explanations for a termination are a lawsuit waiting to happen.

What happened: After informing her employer that she was pregnant, a woman learned from her doctor that her fetus wasn’t viable. She had an abortion. When the woman returned to work a few days later, she suffered an infection related to the abortion and had to leave work in an ambulance.

What people did: The woman recovered from the infection and returned to the workplace after a few days. As soon as she arrived, her male supervisor ended her employment, allegedly because she wasn’t a good fit with the organization. On the woman’s termination paperwork, however, the boss said she was dismissed for poor performance. Later, the manager stated that the woman was fired because of attendance problems.

Legal challenge: The woman sued for pregnancy discrimination, arguing that she was terminated a short time after she returned to work following an abortion.

Result: The company lost. The court refused to toss out the lawsuit. The judge said the close timing between the woman’s termination of her pregnancy and her dismissal was potential proof of pregnancy bias. The court also noted that the employer offered shifting reasons for her dismissal, first stating that she was fired because she wasn’t a good fit, then later claiming that she had performance and attendance issues. Either way, the woman was never advised of these alleged problems before she was let go.

The skinny: Employers that fire women shortly after they return to the workplace following an abortion are risking a costly pregnancy discrimination lawsuit.

Cite: Felts v. National Indoor RV Center, U.S. District Court, M.D. Tennessee, No. 3:22-cv-00531, 7/11/24.

(From the July 26, 2024, issue of HR Manager’s Legal Alert for Supervisors. To start your no-obligation trial subscription to the publication right now, please click here.)