Manager Fires Pregnant Woman Because of Upcoming Maternity Leave

We’ve heard about pregnancy discrimination in the workplace, but this one takes the cake.

Kameisha Denton did not get this support working at Jersey Mike’s, the popular sandwich chain in Washington state. After requesting the upcoming schedule from her manager, she was hit with a major bomb. Her boss fired her, saying, “it’s not a good time for us to have someone who is leaving for maternity leave in several months.”

Completely caught off guard, she turned to her Facebook friends for some help. “I usually don’t post personal things like this, but is this allowed?” she asked in the post.

To answer Denton’s question, no, it’s not allowed. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 bans discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, meaning her manager was completely in the wrong to fire her just because she’s a soon-to-be-mom.

Many rushed to her side to inform her of her rights and share messages of support.

“No this is highly illegal it’s discrimination. People have sued for this. Sorry you’re going through this love,” says one comment.

“This is highly illegal. The company would not stand behind that and I’m sure it would get dealt with quickly if this is how the managers run their stores. Social media is powerful,” advises another.

As it turns out, that user wasn’t wrong. Shortly after the post went viral, the store owner reached out to apologize on behalf of the company and offer her her job back. The icing on the cake? He let her know the manager resigned due to the incident, reports KOMO News.

Telling your boss you’re pregnant can sometimes be a tricky conversation to navigate—but with a little prep and strategy on your part, it doesn’t have to be.