Hello everyone, I am on here hoping to find some answers since apparently I cannot get an attorney to call me back! Let me start off by saying that I was a poker dealer in a casino in Atlantic City Nj. I am only 4'7, and when I had reached my 5th month of pregnancy (May 2009), my supervisors in the poker room have seen that I could not reach the table anymore. THEY had suggested putting in a request to HR to sit up front and call down the lists for the remainder of my pregnancy. I did exactly what they told me. I put in a request to HR that very same week. Now, almost 2 months go by, STILL NO RESPONSE. I must have called them 20 times and spoke to the head of HR and she had told me that they have not made a decision yet. Now, before their response had come back, me and my fiance were doing our baby registry at babies r us. My phone rings. It was a lady in the scheduling department that had said to me, "Me and your supervisor feel that you should resign". Basically telling me that I had no other options. Reason being? Because I could not deal, they were giving me "authorized days off" each day and the lady in scheduling could not keep putting me on the schedule without me showing up. I had TOLD her that it was not my fault, and that I would LOVE to work, but it was not my fault. I physically could not do it and I was waiting for HR to call me back with an answer and they were not. They were taking their good old time, meanwhile I had bills to pay and no income to pay them! SO, finally I get a call from HR telling me that the answer came back as "no". She basically threatened me to resign saying that if I was to get terminated another casino would never hire me. Of course I was scared at the time and was hysterically crying b/c they had me wait 2 MONTHS for a response, then told me that I should resign b/c they had NO other options for me! So, I called a friend of mine who is practicing injury law. He had said to me, "Listen, I am not experienced in employment law, but I dam sure well know that what they did to you was not right. The reason they said that to you is to scare you. This way, if you resign on your own will, they will not be held liable for anything". So, I called the head of HR back again and told her, "I am not resigning, if you want to terminate me, then TERMINATE me." About a few days later (i can't remember too well times b/c it was over a year ago, but I do have the times written in a book that I had kept) I recieved a conference call with about 3 or 4 people. I cannot remember, but they were very important people. They did the SAME thing, tried to get me resign, but I held my ground and said "I WANT my job, I LOVE my job. All I want to do is work. How are there no other options for me? So basically I get pregnant and now I am being punished for it? Because that's what it feels like. Punishment. I am not resigning. If you all want to terminate me, then you can do just that". So, after all of that, I recieved a letter in the mail that had stated, "If you cannot find another job within the company in one month, you will be terminated for Medical Reasons". Also, I forgot to mention that I asked if I qualified for FMLA...and they said I only had 800 hrs which to me is a bunch of bull, since I had worked there for a year and a half, 5 days a week! So, after the letter, I put in a few applications to certain departments, and of course, no response back. So there it came in August....terminated for Medical Reasons. I made sure to save all of my documentations and emails that were sent to me from HR, and the ones that I had sent out as well. My daughter is now 15 months old, and the statue of limitations is up this August. I swear I have tried to call lawyers about it to hear my story, but its almost as if they do not believe me and in return do not call me back. I mean, it is illegal to fire a woman due to pregnancy, and I can see it from an attorneys eyes...who would be dumb enough to fire someone due to pregnancy??...and for that reason I feel that they do not call me back to hear me out. They terminated me due to "Medical Reasons"...which was me being pregnant. The way they went about this was SO unprofessional and misleading. They should have FIRST gave me the option to find a job within the company as opposed to forcing me to resign. All I want is a lawyer to hear me out, so does anyone know of any good employment law firms in NJ that would take me seriously? I would appreciate it soooo much. I should have acted on this sooner, I know, but my daughter was born with a very rare condition (happens in 1 in 5,000 babies) and she had surgery at 5 months old. So, I was so stressed and was taking care of her for months, so all of this was on the back burner. Thank you so much to everyone who is reading this, and all advice and input is greatly appreciated!
Answer by Judy
This won't be the answer you're hoping for. If you're physically unable to do your job, even if he cause is your pregnancy, they don't have to find an alternate position for you, or keep your job for you, they can just terminate you.
Your only out would be if you were eligible for FMLA leave, then they'd have to give you up to 12 weeks of (unpaid) leave. You say you worked 5 days a week for a year and a half, but don't say how many hours your shifts were. If you worked 40 hours a week for the full 12 months before you were looking to go on leave, you'd be eligible as far as hours, if they were 4 hour shifts, no. Only the 12 months before you go on leave counts. But 12 weeks of FMLA leave wouldn't have carried you through the rest of your pregnancy, so even if you were eligible, that wouldn't have done you any good, you'd have been out too long.
Bottom line, you weren't fired for being pregnant, which would be illegal. You were fired for being physically unable to do your job, which is legal.
Have you applied again, now that you're able again? If they need someone, they might be interested in rehiring you.
Answer by Go AZ
What you need to do is make an appointment with a lawyer - they don't call back. Look under 'wrongful termination'. The biggest section in my phone book is ads for attorneys. Ask if the first visit for a consultation is free. (Maybe not in this economy). There's been enough going on that you might have a case.
Answer by philospher77
Actually, it's not illegal to fire someone for being pregnant. It's illegal to treat pregnancy differently than any other short-term disability, but if the company has a policy of firing/asking people to resign if they can not deal (for example, someone with a broken arm), then they are perfectly within their rights to do so to a pregnant woman. Which may be why the lawyers are not calling you back.
Answer by lucy
NO lawyer will call you back period. Everyone wants to call a lawyer and get free legal advice. I know since I am married to a retired lawyer who practiced law for over 40 years.
Do google search or look in the phone book under employment lawyers. Call up and MAKE AN APPOINTMENT. Many lawyers might give you 1 free consult on your legal rights, or they may charge you for this appointment. Either way, you will need to get all of your documentation, HR booklet, wage documentation etc and bring to the lawyers office. The lawyer at that time can sit down with you and ask you questions, review all your documents, to see if in fact what they did was legal or not.
Then if the lawyer deems that what they did was illegal, he would then have a contract signed by you that he is representing you in wrongful termination, discrimination etc. But to just have a lawyer call you back w/out seeing you makes no sense period. Do you expect that if a lawyer called you back and said, yes this is illegal, then you call up HR or the casino and state that such and such lawyer told you that they illegally fired you, that this would fly? A lawyer could be sued for malpractice if they did that.
IF;;;;;;;a lawyer deems you indeed have a case, then the lawyer after you signed a contract with them and also with all documentation and proof you provide in the face to face meeting, would contact the casino on your behalf.
But;;;;;;;;if during this consultation that the lawyer deems you do not have a case and what they did was legal, you would need to move on.
Let me repeat this, only a employment lawyer in a face to face meeting with all the documentation and facts can determine if you have a case or not. The next phone call you make should be to set up an appointment in person period.
Answer by Ms. God
Jesus & Mohammet: You need to SUE their F$ CKING PANTS OFF!!!
Bev, Bertha, Oliver & Earl: Didn't read ANYTHING but the TITLE!!
Jesus & Mohammet THAT was F$ CKING ENOUGH!!
Chief Justice Bader Ginsburg & Chief Justice McLachlin: They're going to be VERY! VERY! VERY! VERY! VERY! VERY! VERY! VERY! SORRY they DID that to YOU.'
Jesus & Mohammet: They've BOTH BEEN PREGNANT!!
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GOD & ALLAH: BURN! MOTHER! MOTHER! MOTHER! F$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ CKERS!!!
Supreme Courts GLOBALLY: BUUUUUUURRRRRRNNN!!!!!!
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Orignal From: My Job fired me due to pregnancy..lawyers will not hear me out..PLEASE READ!?
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