Ohio Supreme Court Rules Against Worker Denied Maternity Leave

Ohio Supreme Court Rules Against Worker Denied Maternity Leave

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Supreme Court says it's not sex discrimination if an employer won't grant maternity leave to a newer worker ineligible for any time off.

The state's highest court ruled 5-1 on Tuesday in the case of a nursing home employee in Pataskala who was denied maternity leave after eight months on the job, 10TV's Andy Hirsch reported.

The home's employee handbook stated that workers would have to put in a year of service before they could take leave of any kind.

The woman filed a complaint when she was fired after missing work because of medical issues related to her pregnancy and eventual childbirth.

http://www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2010/06/22/story-columbus-supreme-court-maternity-ruling.html?sid=102

could shed his grace on what is happening in this country on either the foreign or domestic scene. :P

It will make you miss Ohio. I know it has that effect on me. LOL

the company was within its rights. A pregnancy takes 9 months (give or take). A new-hire takes some training before they become a fully-contributing employee (usually).
An unplanned pregnancy often creates some havoc for women, but is it the responsibility of an employer to compensate her for a decision/occurrence that they had no part in?

Benefits with a "time-served" aspect are reserved for employees who have put in their time, and not for new-hires.

There is always "more to the story" in these cases, and I'd be willing to bet that the woman in question was pregnant (or at least suspected it) when she got the job. A lot of tasks in nursing homes involve lifting, bending & the use of chemical cleaners...how many of these tasks did she "opt out" of? Perhaps she did not turn out to be the employee they thought they were getting when they hired her.

Companies hire people to do work for them, when the company needs the work. They write schedules,, and expect employees to adhere to them. Once an employee stops following the schedules, and starts missing work, it throws the whole place into upheaval.

I worked at many jobs that did not have formal maternity leaves, and in every case, the woman was actually pestered by the employer to come back ASAP, even though many did not even want to come back.

Employers want valued employees back..the marginal/non-performing ones?,..not so much.

From what is reported. She was not covered by FMLA and if her absence was treated just like any other employee's absence then they did have the legal right to fire her. And unfortunately it was a policy covered in her employee handbook, and she either was pregnant when taking the job or soon thereafter.

It still sucks though.

Say all employers were obliged to grant full maternity leave to every woman who became pregnant, even brand new hires. This would be a huge disincentive for employers to hire younger women. Plenty of women in their 20s and 30s would be passed over at the hiring stage, even if they had no intention of becoming pregnant, just because the potential employer might think that they may.