Pregnancy and pay Off
Tanja
1 Post
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 11-03-06 AT 05:10PM (CST)[/font][br][br](Before I get steaming nostrils- The subject line should be Pregnacy and LAY off 
I couldn't edit the subject line.
A new company I work with has 26 employees- where FMLA does not apply. ADA would not apply as Pregnancy is short-term. PDA would, but we wouldn't provide other employee exteneded LOA.
Situation: A new employee of 1 month has notified us that she is pregnant (unknown due date- we didn't ask.) We don't have a Maternity Leave policy or a Leave of absence policy. Employees accrue and are able to take their PTO after 6 months of employment. The position is a non-exempt mid-level administrative assistant but requires training to complete the essential job duties.(Which there are no job descriptions in place.) She seems to be working out well- and wouldn't likely be termed prior to her "introductory" period.
The position is likely to dissolved in 6 months. If for some reason the job does not dissolve the company does not think it could hold the job open or use a "temp" for 12 weeks. Not sure how much of an "undue hardship" this would be. And LT unpaid LOA would not be offered to any other employee.
The company does look out for its employee and wants to work with her. The company is a little hesitant to take action either way for fear off a discrimination lawsuit.
Are there any objections out there to the pregnant employee's layoff in 6 months, allow her to collect unemployment, and have her sign a waiver?
Please advise.
I couldn't edit the subject line.A new company I work with has 26 employees- where FMLA does not apply. ADA would not apply as Pregnancy is short-term. PDA would, but we wouldn't provide other employee exteneded LOA.
Situation: A new employee of 1 month has notified us that she is pregnant (unknown due date- we didn't ask.) We don't have a Maternity Leave policy or a Leave of absence policy. Employees accrue and are able to take their PTO after 6 months of employment. The position is a non-exempt mid-level administrative assistant but requires training to complete the essential job duties.(Which there are no job descriptions in place.) She seems to be working out well- and wouldn't likely be termed prior to her "introductory" period.
The position is likely to dissolved in 6 months. If for some reason the job does not dissolve the company does not think it could hold the job open or use a "temp" for 12 weeks. Not sure how much of an "undue hardship" this would be. And LT unpaid LOA would not be offered to any other employee.
The company does look out for its employee and wants to work with her. The company is a little hesitant to take action either way for fear off a discrimination lawsuit.
Are there any objections out there to the pregnant employee's layoff in 6 months, allow her to collect unemployment, and have her sign a waiver?
Please advise.
Comments
Did you originally create this job as a temporary position? If not, then your task is a bit more difficult. When you get to lay-off situations, how do you determine what positions will be dissolved and would you normally try to place existing EEs into other positions?
Point is, in order to avoid issues with the PDA, you have to treat this EE just like any other EE. Dissolving positions and asking for waivers create red flags. Your documentation of your lay-off thought process and how you have handled such things in the past will determine how much of an issue you have.