Fairport woman: I was fired for being pregnant
- Betzaida Cruz Cardona%2C 20%2C lost her job as work stalled on a state bill that would increase protections for pregnant workers.
- Savers%2C a second-hand thrift store%2C has launched an investigation into the firing last year of a cashier who was pregnant.
- Differences between the major political parties has stalled legislation that would require employers to make reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers.
Betzaida Cruz Cardona thought a note from her doctor would make everything all right.
Instead the note turned into a nightmare that has seen the Fairport woman lose her job, bounce from home to home and worry how she'll take care of an unborn child as state lawmakers try to work on a bill clarifying how employers should treat pregnant workers.
Cruz Cardona said she was terminated in August from an $8.15-an-hour cashier's job at the Henrietta Savers Inc., a second-hand thrift store that donates clothing and funds to nonprofits, including Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Greater Rochester.
The 20-year-old woman said she was fired shortly after giving a store manager a doctor's note restricting her from lifting no more than 25 pounds. She said she was sent home and about 30 minutes later received a phone call from her manager.
"She started laughing like that was a joke," said Cruz Cardona, a 20-year-old now living in Fairport. "I felt bad. I felt humiliated."
Cruz Cardona is listed on a complaint filed recently with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by the New York City-based legal advocacy group A Better Balance and the firm Emery Celli Brinkerhoof & Abady LLP, also out of New York City. The complaint alleges that the store discriminated against Cruz Cardona for being pregnant by illegally firing her.
"They should have sat down and engaged with her," said Dina Bakst, president of A Better Balance. "They just showed her the door. They just terminated and said, 'Oh go home and take care of your pregnancy and reapply for this job after you've had this baby.' "
Bakst said Cruz Cardeno had never done any lifting in the store, so she could have worked with a 25-pound weight restriction.
Store investigating
Savers is based in the Seattle area and has more than 300 stores primarily in the United States and Canada. It was founded more than 60 years ago and claims to have more than 140 working relationships with nonprofits. The company says it has paid more than $1.5 billion to those nonprofits over the last 10 years. It employs more than 19,000.
The company offers clothing, electronics, toys, products for infants, books, furniture and other items for resale.
"I have found them to be a very heartfelt company," said Tina Christensen, executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Rochester. "They've been very supportive of us and even had fashion shows ... the kids get to do a whole runway fashion show and get to keep the clothes after."
She said the store provides a financial donation to Big Brothers Big Sisters that amounts to a "small percentage of our total budget." Savers also extends an employee discount on purchases to the staff of the local nonprofit.
A spokeswoman for Savers said the company is investigating the complaint, but it would not publicly disclose other details "out of respect for team members."
"We have not, do not, and will not tolerate discrimination of any type, including pregnancy discrimination, toward our valued employees," said Sara Gaugl, director of communications for Savers. "We take this commitment seriously and emphasize these policies in our code of ethics, ongoing trainings and throughout the Savers culture."
Albany matters
Lawmakers in Albany have been considering legislation for months now that would require employers to make reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers. The Women's Equality Act introduced in June 2013 by Gov. Cuomo would extend several protections to women by strengthening the state's penalties for human trafficking and sexual harassment while enacting an equal-pay law.
There are 10 different items in the bill, one item relating to penalties for domestic violence has already been signed into law. But approval of the legislation has been held up over a provision that would bolster the state's abortion law by aligning state law with current federal laws.
The Republican-controlled Senate has approved much of bill minus the abortion item. Meanwhile, the Assembly, controlled by the Democrats, has tried to pass the legislation with that abortion item. The difference means that nothing else has been signed into law.
"The rest of those bills are not controversial," said Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, R-Canandaigua. "They'll pass both houses overwhelming and so the real difference is the abortion plank. There are not enough votes to pass that."
Majority Leader Joseph Morelle, D-Irondequoit, said the Assembly has passed the legislation previously and intends to again this year.
"The Women's Equality Act reaffirms our commitment to the equal treatment of all people and will protect the fundamental rights of over 10 million women living in New York by addressing domestic violence, human trafficking, workplace discrimination and a woman's freedom of choice," he said in a statement.
Cruz Cardona can still file a complaint under existing state and federal law, but passage of the Women's Equality Act would make it clear that pregnancy discrimination is illegal statewide and shouldn't be treated as a sex or gender or some other type of discrimination complaint, said Edward A. Trevvett, a partner at Harris Beach in Pittsford who works in labor and employment law.
"This just would give her an extra cause of action, a concrete course of action under state law," Trevvett explained.
Typical accommodations could include providing a worker a stool to sit on, extra bathroom breaks or helping them through a lifting restriction.
"You can usually brainstorm with a person and figure out some accommodation," Trevvett said. "... You do not have to create light-duty work, but if there is a vacant position out there that you haven't filled and this person could do it and it would be within their restrictions, that would be a reasonable accommodation that you would have to consider."
Complaints across the state
Debate over the Women's Equality Act comes at a time when discrimination complaints of all sorts in New York are on the rise.
The number of complaints filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission during its fiscal year, from Oct. 1, 2013, to Sept. 30, 2014, increased by nearly 2 percent to 3,611 in the state. The report includes complaints over such things as equal pay, disability, sex, religion, race, color, retaliation, and other issues.
"Sometimes you'll see employers or particular managers do silly things and no amount of lawmaking in the world is going to prevent that," Trevvett said. "Probably 90-plus percent of claims we see are not meritorious, but they still need to get defended or litigated in some fashion."
There were 1,125 charges of sex discrimination filed and 980 cases of disability; both categories can cover complaints of pregnancy discrimination.
"Having a baby shouldn't mean losing your job, not in the state of New York, and it still happens," said Bakst. "This is a huge problem for women living on the edge, living paycheck to paycheck."
She said several states including Delaware, West Virginia and Illinois have enacted protections for pregnant workers. New York City enacted a similar law about 18 months ago called the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requiring employers to provide modest accommodations.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court is considering how much employers should have to accommodate pregnant employees in UPS v. Young. That case revolves around the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which requires employers to treat pregnant women the way they should treat nonpregnant employees with similar abilities or disabilities.
Young was put on unpaid leave resulting in the loss of medical benefits. The Supreme Court heard the case in December. Meanwhile, UPS said in October that it would change its policy so pregnant women would be eligible for light-duty assignments. The company is still defending its original position, despite the policy change.
Pregnant and unemployed
The complaint against Savers alleges that the company violated the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the State Human Rights Law by terminating Cruz Cardona's employment, which left her unable to pay rent and other bills.
"Everything was just going bad," she said. "I went from a friend's house, to my sister's house, from my sister's house to my mom's house, from my mom's house to my cousin's house."
The complaint alleges that the stress relating to the loss of work "devastated" the woman's relationship with the father of the child. She has also been unable to find other employment while pregnant and was forced to seek public assistance.
Cruz Cardona wants back pay, compensatory and other damages, in addition to related fees and costs. She also wants Savers to put a comprehensive pregnancy policy in place.
"I could have still been working," she said. "I could have everything stable for my baby."
She recently moved into a place in Fairport. Her baby is due in April. She has plans to go to school and find a new job after the child is born.
"It's really awful," she said. "I really don't want (any) woman to basically go through all this. I want us to be treated equal."
TCLAUSEN@DemocratandChronicle.com
Discrimination charges in New York
While lower than in 2009, the number of discrimination charges in New York filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission increased by nearly 2 percent to 3,611 last year. Some totals include:
Sex-related charges: 1,125
Disability related charges: 980
Total charges: 3,611
Figures provided by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Issues of pregnancy can be filed under sex, disability or other categories.