|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|||
|
||||
|
||||
Maternity Job Dismissal SuitFrom: RModugno@aol.comFri Jun 27 09:27:54 2003
Woman Sues Maternity Store Chain, Says She Was Fired Because of Pregnancy Access this story and related links online: http://www.kaisernetwork.org/daily_reports/rep_index.cfm?DR_ID=18510 Cynthia Papageorge, who was formerly a district manager at the maternity clothes retailer Mothers Work Inc., has filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging that company officials fired her and other employees because of their pregnancies, the Boston Globe reports. In the suit, which is being heard in U.S. District Court in Boston, Papageorge says that Frank Mullay, a vice president of the company -- which operates 900 stores nationwide, including A Pea in the Pod, Mimi Maternity and Motherhood Maternity -- told her that she "wasn't able to handle [her] position 'in [her] state'" and "moved quickly" to fire her after visiting her in October 1999 during her 37th week of pregnancy, according to the Globe. In addition, Jan Dowe, who was Papageorge's boss at the time, in an affidavit said that Mullay told her to fire Papageorge while she was on maternity leave. Dowe refused to fire her after company personnel officials told her that dismissing Papageorge because of her pregnancy was illegal, according to the affidavit. According to the lawsuit, Dowe was then fired after being told her job performance was "subpar," and Papageorge was fired after requesting medical leave for a shoulder injury, the Globe reports. Previous Lawsuits Three other pregnancy discrimination lawsuits have been filed against Mothers Work, with two being settled out of court and one being dismissed. Mark Itzkowitz, Papageorge's attorney, said, "It seems that pregnant women are subject to termination by virtue of their pregnancy. That position was made known in meetings with managers at Mothers Work. The other women were terminated for the same reason." Sheryl Rothrogers, vice president of marketing at Mothers Work, said the allegations were "as far from the truth as possible," adding, "We're a company founded by a pregnant woman and we're an organization of women." According to Rothrogers, the company has policies in place to "affirmatively and proactively help [the] diverse workplace balance family and work." Rothrogers said that Mothers Work "believe[s] the suit is without merit and will be appropriately and successfully defended" (Estes, Boston Globe, 6/26).
|
|
Return to
|
Mail a New Message to the Forum: ob-gyn-l@obgyn.net Forum Administrator: geffrey.klein@obgyn.net Report Technical Problems: webmaster@obgyn.net Last Updated: Fri May 2 04:36:51 2008 |
The American Medical Association is no longer designating CME hours for AMA Category II CME credit. However, physicians themselves may self designate learning activities as Category II CME credit hours if they feel it is of sufficient educational merit and meets the formal definitions of continuing medical education. OBGYN.net believes these interaction in this forum meets these criteria. For further information see the AMA web site.