Dallas Waffle House Fires Employee for Having Too Many Kids, Lawsuit Says

A Waffle House in the Dallas area faces a lawsuit from a former manager-in-training who says she was fired because she had too many children to effectively work as a manager.

The lawsuit alleges that when the woman told her supervisor, also female, she was pregnant last year, the supervisor replied, “You’re pregnant again? Don’t you already have three kids?”

The plaintiff said that management believed she would “move too slow” while pregnant and “not be able to handle the job.” She said she had insisted her pregnancy would not interfere with the job and noted that she had received positive reviews on her work before the pregnancy announcement. The plaintiff also claims the supervisor began to make up lies about her performance to justify the termination.

The plaintiff is asking for at least $100,000 and other non-wage damages including attorney's fees and other court costs. She has requested a trial by jury.

This former Waffle House employee’s suit is just one example of the many pregnancy discrimination cases that take place nationally every year. In 2013, 5,342 pregnancy discrimination charges were filed with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and state and local Fair Employment Practices agencies.

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) is an amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects employees from sex discrimination and racial discrimination in the workplace.  Discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions constitutes unlawful sex discrimination under Title VII.  Women affected by pregnancy must be treated in the same manner as other applicants or employees who are similar in their ability or inability to work.

Call Atkerson Law today if you are experiencing pregnancy discrimination in the workplace, or if your employer has wrongfully denied your right to take maternity leave or medical leave.

Atkerson Law – Dallas Employment Law Attorney