Pregnant LI Woman Says She Was Fired After Discrimination

MELVILLE, NY — A pregnant woman claims she was wrongly fired by EmblemHealth Services Company after she faced workplace discrimination from her female manager on account of her pregnancy, according to a lawsuit. The woman, who her attorney, David H. Rosenberg, of The Law Office of David H. Rosenberg, P.C. in Mineola, requested not be named, is suing EmblemHealth and the manager, who works at the Melville office at 395 North Service Road #110.

Rosenberg said his client faced unlawful discriminatory practices relating to employment in violation of the state's Human Rights Law due to her pregnancy, and that she faced retaliation after opposing her treatment in the workplace.

The woman was fired Sept. 10, 2019, her lawyer said.

"It is a real disappointment that EmblemHealth, a company that provides health services on Long Island, treated my client so poorly on account of her high risk pregnancy," Rosenberg said.

The plaintiff began working for EmblemHealth, an insurance agency, on Nov. 20, 2017, and quickly gained a positive reputation among her co-workers and customers for her sheer hard work and dedication, Rosenberg said.

On or around Dec. 21, 2017, the woman told her manager she was pregnant, according to the lawsuit. She received an "indifferent" response from her manager, who said, "oh," and didn't smile or make any facial expression indicating that she was happy her subordinate was pregnant, Rosenberg said. The woman said she believed her manager was upset by the pregnancy.

On or around Jan. 6, 2018, according to the lawsuit, the woman told her manager, "I went to my regular doctor's appointment and was told that my baby might have a heart condition. They have to follow it more closely. I am now considered a high-risk pregnancy because of this, and I have to follow up with maternal medicine and go once a week to them."

After making the request for time off from work to seek medical care, Rosenberg said his client handed her manager a doctor's note detailing the high-risk pregnancy. Her manager did not say "sorry to hear that," or any words showing concern, she said. Instead, according to the lawsuit, the manager said "You will just have to make up the hours you miss by coming in earlier or staying later." The plaintiff says this caused her to believe her manager was upset about her request for time off from work to seek medical attention.

On or about Jan. 16, 2018, according to the lawsuit, both the woman's manager and the EmblemHealth human resources manager told her "Due to being considered a high-risk pregnancy and requiring additional weekly doctor appointments, we think it's a good idea to change your employment status from full-time to part-time. This would result in a reduction of pay and PTO. However, now we don't have to worry about managing your time around these medical visits."

On or about Jan. 30, the woman says she told her manager and HR manager that changing to part-time wouldn't benefit her, and there is no guarantee that she'd be returned to full-time following maternity leave. She said the proposal is not OK considering her manager already approved a weekly arrangement, and then retracted it and took it to HR.

"I want to make sure I am not experiencing pregnancy discrimination, as this feels very targeted," the plaintiff says she recalls telling them.

There was no investigation, corrective action or disciplinary action, the lawsuit states. Instead, the woman "was forced to continue working under the aforesaid hostile work environment," Rosenberg said.

She took maternity leave on March 15, 2018, the day she gave birth, and returned to work May 22, 2018, according to the lawsuit.

On June 14, 2018, according to the lawsuit, the manager, in the presence of the program manager and senior pharmaceutical analyst, told the plaintiff, "I go to your desk looking for you, and I also look for your laptop to keep track of your whereabouts. I also look for your purse to keep track of you. I also have a notebook where I document everything. I know you're a liar." From then on, the woman believed her manager was setting her up for failure on account of her pregnancy and in retaliation of her engaging in the protected activities, Rosenberg said.

On June 22, 2018, the lawsuit alleges that the manager clenched her fist and yelled at the plaintiff, "You think I'm stupid. I don't care what you tell me regarding bathroom breaks, taking lunch, using our conference room or any of that. If you are not at your desk when I walk over there, I am taking you to human resources."

In or about the week of July 13, 2018, the woman's program manager told her she needs to watch her back, as she saw her manager sneaking around her desk and snooping quietly, according to the lawsuit.

The woman claims the program manager said "It seems like [the manager] wants to get you in trouble since you came back from maternity leave."

In or about the week of Aug. 1, 2018, according to the lawsuit, the program coordinator at EmblemHealth told the plaintiff she needs to be careful, as her manager has been going around and asking about her lunch patterns, if she ever goes on breaks or takes walks for fresh air.

"She is trying to find something to get you in trouble," the woman said the program coordinator told her.

On Aug. 13, 2018, the woman told her manager that she was accusing her of not being at work when she was using the bathroom, all because she wasn't at her desk when she walked by, the lawsuit said.

"You have done these unfair accusations several times, and I feel targeted," the woman said she told her manager.

On or around Oct. 15, 2018, during a team meeting, the plaintiff said her manager asked if anyone had anything they wanted to share. The woman said she responded that she was expecting a second baby, to which her manager angrily screamed, "Oh my God, I knew it. I just knew it."

On or around Nov. 1, 2018, the lawsuit claims the manager told the woman, "I'm giving you quadruple the work with the same deadlines as the other team members, OK, this was an oversight on my part, but I will not fix this error in work distribution. You can figure it out."

On Nov. 15, 2018, according to the lawsuit, the woman told someone at work that her manager was continuing to target her and is purposefully setting her up for failure, adding that she was given 5-10 times more work than the rest of the team on a specific assignment, and that her manager is unwilling to provide her the resources and help she needs to be successful. The plaintiff said she feared retaliation from her manager due to her pregnancy, and that she feels her manager is trying to create reasons to fire her from EmblemHealth. Rosenberg said his client was seeking help, but it never came, and she was forced to continue working under her manager.

On or around Jan. 28, 2019, the woman claimed her manager embarrassed her when she told her, "Wow, look at your belly size. From the back, you can't tell you're pregnant until you turn around, and 'boom,' wow, that came out of nowhere." The plaintiff said her manager doubled down one day later when she told her, "I notice whenever I come around you lately, you cover your pregnant belly by wrapping yourself with your sweater. Is it because I have made comments about your belly size?"

On or around Feb. 8, 2019, according to the lawsuit, the manager told her worker, "You're so lucky. You get to take another vacation when this baby comes," to which the woman responded, "I am offended when you refer to my upcoming maternity leave as a vacation. It's not much of a vacation to be sleep deprived and care for a newborn."

On March 1, 2019, the woman said she emailed her manager that she went to a routine OBGYN appointment, and due to her history, it is recommended that she work a full-time schedule from home for her safety, adding that she attached her doctor's note and asked if it was OK and if she needed to do anything else. Her manager didn't respond, Rosenberg said, causing his client to believe she was upset by the request to work from home. The lawsuit claims other employees who were not pregnant or didn't oppose discriminatory practices were allowed to work from home.

A week later, the woman told her manager about the email and that she was recommended to work from home due to medical issues during her pregnancy, but her accommodation request was not granted, the lawsuit said.

The plaintiff took maternity leave on April 25, 2019, the day she gave birth, and returned to work July 22, 2019.

On or around Aug. 5, 2019, the woman's manager asked her if she could help write a report based on a 35-page template, with a deadline of Aug. 30, the lawsuit said.

"Despite the discriminatory/retaliatory acts described herein and emotional toll [the plaintiff] endured from them, she finished the assignment early and submitted it to [her manager] on Aug. 22, 2019," Rosenberg said.

The next day, the lawsuit claims the manager told her worker, "I just realized I attached the wrong template when I gave you the instructions for this report originally. Attached is a new 22-page template. Please re-do the work."

On Aug. 30, 2019, the woman complained to two EmblemHealth administrators about her manager's supposed gaffe, and said she thinks her manager is continuing to target her in an effort to get her to quit, the lawsuit claims. Nothing happened, the woman said.

On Sept. 10, 2019, the plaintiff was fired on account of pregnancy and retaliation, the lawsuit claims.

"As a result of the discriminatory/retaliatory termination, [my client] suffered and continues to suffer from economic and emotional damages," Rosenberg wrote in the lawsuit.

Non-pregnant employees and those who didn't engage in protected activities were not treated in the same way his client was, Rosenberg said.

Patch was unable to reach EmblemHealth or the plaintiff's ex-manager for comment.