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Maternity Leave Discrimination

Decent Essays

The employer claimed that there was no discriminatory decision in replacing the employee on maternity leave. He stated that the employees statutory maternity leave began on September 8th, and ended on March 8th. In early march, the employer tried to make contact but did not receive a response, then in April, the employee on maternity leave made contact with her employer, requesting a letter stating that her maternity leave was extended to May 21st. The employer responded informing her that another person had filled her position. The Equality Officer in this case determined that the employee did have a prima facie case of discrimination. The Officer noted that there was not a resignation by the Employee and pushed for the fact that there was …show more content…

Claire stated that she informed her employer that she was pregnant in December of 2007, immediately after, her employer professed his preference towards another employee who had returned to work in as little as two months of maternity leave. Her employer also stated that he would prefer it if she did not take a maternity leave or if she did, that she worked from home. In May, a male employee was hired to do essentially the same work/ duties as Claire. In response to questions, the employer claimed that the new hire was there to take on some of the workload and that the female employee would maintain a senior standing in that …show more content…

Claire Keenan established a prima facie case of discrimination based on gender with respect to her dismissal. The employer failed to rebut. The court ruled gender discrimination and ordered the employer to pay $120,000.00 to Claire Keenan.
Pregnancy and Maternity Leave must be handled very professionally by organizations to avoid legal ramifications. The case of Claire Keenan v Stephen Kehoe t/a Mortgage Cabin and Ms Olga Seniv v Tamem Michel Bridal Ltd. are examples of organizations mishandling the protections women are under. Employers have an obligation to adhere to the laws related to protective leave, and if in by circumstance, they must dismiss an employee under protective leave, they must prove that the ultimate dismissal is in no way related to the employees

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