2013
Pregnancy discrimination suit filed against Oprah Winfrey Network
For decades, women have turned to Oprah Winfrey for tips on good books, nutrition and relationship advice. Her popular talk show highlighted issues that women across the country faced, and now that she runs her own network, OWN, people in California and nationwide continued to tune in to see more of this same this material.
However, in a very surprising case, a former female employee at the network has filed a lawsuit against OWN for pregnancy discrimination. Many people were shocked to hear the allegations cited in this case, not because they are uncommon, but because of the workplace in which it allegedly took place.
The woman at the center of this lawsuit was a senior director of scheduling and acquisitions at OWN. After her first year in the position, she received an excellent review of her performance, and apparently had no reason to be fearful of her security at the network.
This all changed when the woman announced she was pregnant. After taking a brief two-week medical leave to deal with some health complications caused by her pregnancy, the woman returned to a very different work environment. According to her lawsuit, the woman says a temporary worker was hired in her place during the leave, and her responsibilities were greatly reduced. Eventually, she was laid off one month after she had her baby. She was also rejected from a vice president position she applied for within the company. It will be interesting to see how this case plays out.
It is important to remember that pregnancy discrimination can happen in any workplace. Women who are pregnant are granted certain job protections, accommodations and benefits, and it is unlawful for an employer to deny these pregnancy rights. Victims of pregnancy discrimination have the right to pursue legal action against such negligent employers.
Source: AOL Jobs, “Oprah’s OWN Hit With Sex And Pregnancy Discrimination Lawsuit,” Feb. 2, 2013
