News
Narjas Zatat
Aug 27, 2018
A retail worker has been fired after he told a pregnant employee she could not work there because she was going to go on maternity leave.
Kameisha Denton shared a text message exchange between herself and a Jersey Mike's shop manager.
She had started working at the Washington State branch, and after she got the job, she sent the store manager a text to let him know she was pregnant and would need maternity leave in December.
Denton wrote:
This will not interfere with my performance and I will be back after the baby is born.
She is not under a legal obligation to share her pregnancy, but she did so anyway.
The manager responded with a text message that said he couldn't accommodate her:
I am sorry to inform you but it's not going to work out. It's not a good time for us to have someone who is leaving for maternity leave. You also failed to tell us this during your interview.
Kameisha told abc7 that it was 'discrimination.'
'It's discrimination,' she said. 'You're not supposed to do that to somebody when they're willing to work to support their baby.'
The owner of the Jersey Mike's told the publication that he was made aware of the text message his manager sent and has since been fired.
An attorney said she Kameisha didn't need to inform the manager that she was pregnant, and added that it is 'blatantly illegal' to terminate a woman because she's pregnant.
Denton was offered her job back, but she declined and is considering legal action.
The post went viral and was shared over a thousand times.
One person wrote: 'No this is highly illegal. It's discrimination People have sued for this. Sorry you're going through this love!'
'I'm definitely going to sue,' Denton responded.
indy100 has reached out to Jersey Mike's for comment.
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