Proving the Pregnancy Discrimination Case
Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly has a feature article that is particularly timely in light of this week's firing debacle at Paul Hastings. The article, by Noah Schaffer, discusses cases filed by female attorneys in Massachusetts alleging pregnancy-related discrimination.
One recent complaint was filed against Mintz Levin in Boston. A female associate, Kamee Beth Verdrager, was offered a choice between termination or demotion shortly after returning from maternity leave. We discussed her case in more detail here.
Howard P. Speicher, of the Boston firm of Davis, Malm & D'Agostine, discusses the building of a discrimination claim in a different case, brought against the firm of Wynn & Wynn:
Typically, he says, the discrimination is "an inference that you have to draw. In that case, we had these two female attorneys who were horrified when they heard this statement made by the managing partner of the firm at a meeting. The partner had implied that [plaintiff Jill Carmichael] was having babies instead of concentrating on the law."Such cases are usually much harder to prove, Speicher notes.
"It's an evidence issue," he says. "Usually, if a woman thinks she was fired because she's pregnant, she's not going to have anyone admitting that — like we had" in the Carmichael case. "Usually there is going to be the claim by the employer that it was for other reasons, like job performance."
That leaves the employee with the difficult task of convincing a judge, jury or hearing officer to draw an inference based on evidence that might not be as obvious, he says.
We don't know if this Paul Hastings associate plans to file a discrimination claim against the firm, but from the sounds of her e-mail, it seems likely. The Massachusetts Lawyer Weekly article says some firms settle discrimination claims "quickly and quietly to avoid negative publicity." Um, too late for Paul Hastings.
[Employment attorney Ellen] J. Messing says pregnancy discrimination cases are actually easier to prove than other types of discrimination, such as age bias."There tends to be a before-and-after picture where people report that they are treated as professionals until it is known or evident that they are pregnant," she says. "And then they are treated as bellies."
Surprisingly, some of the firms that have been hit with claims are known for their "family-friendly" policies. In fact, Mintz Levin was named as one of Working Mother magazine's best law firms for women attorneys.
Case in point. The diversity section of the PH website points out that they are "one of the top family-friendly firms in America."
Pregnant Pauses: Women's claims of bias persist despite family-friendly policies [Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly]
Earlier: 'I suppose we have your honeymoon to blame for this?'
Breaking: A Dramatic Farewell Email (And proof of Paul Hastings layoffs.)
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You know how losing the last five pounds is always the hardest? The same could be said for the last few firms on the LIST OF SHAME. Don't count on these firms melting away anytime soon.
Nothing huge today, like yesterday's news about 
