There's only one thing that gets me more upset than when I hear about companies discriminating against women: Companies that discriminate against PREGNANT women! Jennifer Lanser, a former project manager for the French cosmetics company Sisley has filed a discrimination lawsuit against the company after they fired her six months after returning from her maternity leave.
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Lanser faced a few problems with her boss before her actual job termination. The former Sisley employee claimed that back in 2010 her boss began to pry about her future family plans and implied that "it wouldn't be good for her job" if she was to get pregnant again. Lanser also stated that after admitting that she did in fact want to have another child, her boss threatened to eliminate her position and shortly after the conversation, increased her work load. Oh and did I mention that when she reported this to HR, a less-than-sympathetic representative told her to "just deal with it?"
And this isn't the only discrimination lawsuit Sisley has faced. Last year, Sere Conde, who worked for the French brand's Saks Fifth Avenue counter, sued for racial discrimitation after her manager repeatedly addressed in racist ways and even made a comment saying that there were too many black people working for the company.
The response these women received from HR staffers is despicable. In the case of Sere Conde, the same HR person that adviced Lanser to "just deal with it," told her that the only other option she had was to request a transfer to another store despite the fact that she would receive less pay. The fact that the company's Human Resources workers did nothing not only shows Sisley's lack of sensitivity, but leaves room for even more concern.
It baffles me to see that some business really still think that pregnancy discrimination is acceptable. I'm hoping that this lawsuit will really change the way certain companies and work officials view and deal with their pregnant employees.
Image via Sisley
