Woman sues employer for baby's death; Similar lawsuits on rise In America

Jonathan Wolfe
Opposing Views
Thu, 27 Jun 2013 10:43 CDT

A California woman has filed a chilling lawsuit against her employer, the California grocery store chain Albertsons.

As noted by Think Progress, the lawsuit details work events throughout her pregnancy that culminated in the premature birth and death of her baby.

The woman, Reyna Garcia, was a merchandise manager for the store. Her duties on the job included unloading and stocking heavy merchandise from pallets. When she requested to be moved to a section of the store that required less heavy lifting, her request was denied. Her manager told Garcia that he "thought nothing would change" because of her pregnancy.

Garcia brought three doctor's notes to work in her request for light-duty work, but nothing was ever done. Garcia had to keep working throughout her pregnancy because she could not afford to lose her wages and health insurance.

On November 12, 2012, which was 20 weeks into her pregnancy, Garcia asked to leave work because of pain. Her request was again denied. She went into labor that night and rushed to the hospital. At the hospital she found out that her baby was losing fluid and sustaining brain damage. Two days later, Garcia gave birth to her daughter, Jade.

Ten minutes later, Jade died.

Garcia's legal team says Albertsons is in direct violation of California law, which requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant workers.

Albertsons declined to comment on the issue.

Unfortunately, according to the Huffington Post, cases like Garcia's are on the rise in America. More than 3,700 pregnancy discrimination complaints were filed last year, and complaints have rose 67 percent between 1992 and 1997.

http://www.sott.net/article/263418-W...ise-In-America