Legal Question in Employment Law in Florida

Fired for Missing Work due to Pregnancy Issues

My wife was fired for missing some work due to Dr.'s ordered bed rest to prevent a threatened miscariage. She was asked by the Dr. to get bed rest 2 differet times during her pregnancy... once bacy in October, and then again in December... She then missed 2 days because our son had strep throat and therefor could not take him to day-care. We wheren't going to bother with it once she got fired, but now they are appealing her right for unemployment saying that she was not fired that she quit because she wanted to stay home with her children??? If all of this is not enough, They then took 2 months to get her information sent over so that her medical insurance would switch to Cobra... So therfore we have had to spend a very financially trying amount of money up front each time we go to the DR. And since it has not been an easy pregnancy, we have to have special test run every week which cost us a couple hundred dollars everytime we go. Now the hospital wants the full amount up front for us to even deliver the baby their. Is their anything that we can do. Thank you,

God Bless


Asked on 3/16/06, 12:43 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Kelly Henderson

Re: Fired for Missing Work due to Pregnancy Issues

You raise several issues that I think you need to discuss with an employment attorney. Terminating an employee because they are pregnant would be a violation of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act which is part of Title VII. You might want to review the EEOC web site at www.eeoc.gov for more information. Second, if this company had over 50 employees and your wife worked there for over a year there may have been Family Medical Leave Act coverage available to her. The Department of Labor web site at www.dol.gov has inforamtion on the FMLA. Third, the COBRA laws have specific requirements relating to notice and transfer of insurance coverage.

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Answered on 3/17/06, 10:04 am
Mayra Colon Colon Partners, P.A.

Re: Fired for Missing Work due to Pregnancy Issues

I would like to add to Kelly's response that it might be a good idea for you to consult with an attorney prior to filing an administrative complaint with an agency. If mistakes were made at the administrative level, you might have difficulty finding an attorney to take the case to court afterwards. (I have had to reject too many of these lately). In Florida many cases do not get resolved at the agency level and have to be pursued in court. Good luck!

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Answered on 4/14/06, 5:15 pm


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