Human Resource Blog

Pregnancy Discrimination

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I went on maternity leave and used all 12 weeks from FMLA, I came back from leave and now am required to travel to a different facility that is about 5 miles farther in distance from my house but 26 miles farther from my daycare provider. When I was hired, I was told I would need to travel as needed which, and  I have traveled to a few other sites.   Also, they will not let me use my personal or sick time. I was told if I call off sick then I would need a doctor’s note even if it is one day although a doctor’s note has not been required for other employees calling off for one day. I have requested personal days off as well which I have not been approved for. I was never denied using time or required to travel to this new site before my maternity leave.

Thank You,
Kristen

The travel may not be an issue because you were told when you were hired that you would need to travel to different sites. The employer is not required to inform you where those sites would be, before your first day of employment. And, 5 miles is not a great distance to travel. It’s not the employer’s concern how far the new job is from your daycare provider.

You may have a legitimate complaint about the leave issue. Federal FMLA regulations require that, in almost all cases, employees’ benefits including leave be restored when the employee returns from unpaid FMLA leave. And, employees returning from maternity leave should be treated the same as other employees in regards to vacation and sick time. You should probably report this to the EEOC, which enforces the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act.