Unpaid Leave Restricted in Ohio

by Kim Neyer | More from this Blogger

23 Jun 2010 09:29 PM

Some people are very upset after a recent Ohio Supreme Court ruling that allows employers to reserve unpaid leave for workers who have been employed for a minimum of twelve months. The law covers pregnant women as well. This ruling follows a case in which a woman sued her employer for firing her after she gave birth and did not promptly return to work. At the time of her delivery, she had only been employed for 8 months. The nursing home where she worked had a policy in place that required employees to work for twelve months before they could take unpaid leave. In her lawsuit, the woman claimed discrimination. The ruling backs her employer since they applied the same rules to her as all other employees. Those in protest against the ruling claim pregnancy deserves a different set of rules because it is a unique condition.

Even if the ruling was "fair," it's still not right. I believe this country's maternity leave policies stink, especially when you compare us to other countries. Family life should be embraced and supported by employers and employment laws. Firing a new mom is just plain unethical. People need to stop staring at their bottom line and start looking into the eyes of the real people who make this country run. Half of them are women. Many of those women are having babies. It would be ridiculous to expect them not to. If employers want to limit unpaid leave, they should shorten the time period to six months for pregnant women.

However, I also believe that it is our responsibility to be aware of those laws and our rights as employees, and plan accordingly. This woman was already pregnant when she started working at the nursing home. She should have been aware of the company's policies. Knowing she was not going to be able to keep her job if she took leave, she should have planned on quitting right before delivery and lined up another job for the time period after her leave. The reality is she had eight months to prepare. Yes, the company should have held her job for her regardless of their policy, but I don't think a lawsuit was her best move. There has to be more to this story.

Learn more about Kim Neyer

Kim is a freelance writer, photographer and stay at home mom to her one-year-old son, Micah. She has been married to her husband, Eric, since 2006.

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