A pregnant employee’s supervisor told her that she can take 10 weeks of maternity leave, but just before she anticipates returning to work, the employee learns she has been fired. The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts recently considered whether the employer in this case violated the state’s maternity leave law.
What happened. “Deb” was a housekeeper at Global Naps, Inc. When she became pregnant, her supervisor told her that if she gave birth by cesarean section, she could have 10 weeks of unpaid maternity leave. Deb did give birth by cesarean section and took her 10 weeks of leave. However, when she called work just before her return date, her supervisor told her she had been fired.
Deb sued Global, claiming that it violated the Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act (MMLA). Global argued that Deb was entitled to only 8 weeks of leave under the MMLA, but the jury found in Deb’s favor, awarding her over $1 million dollars in damages.
Global wanted to appeal the verdict, but its attorneys failed to file an appeal within the statutory deadline. Thus, their appeal was denied. Global then sued its attorneys for malpractice. To win a malpractice claim, Global needed to show that it would have prevailed if its attorneys had timely filed the appeal. The Supreme Judicial Court thus considered the merits of Deb’s claim before it ruled on the malpractice issue.
What the court said. The MMLA provides job protection to eligible female employees who take no more than 8 weeks of maternity leave. The employer is not required to pay an employee on maternity leave. The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) is responsible for enforcing the MMLA. MCAD issued guidelines for employers to help them comply with MMLA. The guidelines stated that if an employer does not intend for MMLA rights to apply if leave exceeds 8 weeks, it must inform the employee in writing.
The court reasoned that unlike a regulation, MCAD’s guidelines did not have the force of law. It then held that the guidelines were inconsistent with the unambiguous language of the statute, which does not require an employer to provide notice if it will not keep a job open for an employee who takes maternity leave for more than 8 weeks. Therefore, the ruling in favor of Deb would have been reversed had Global’s attorneys timely filed for the appeal. Gobal Naps, Inc. v. Awiszus, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, No. SJC-10586 (8/9/10).
Point to remember: While the court made clear that MMLA provides maternity leave with job protection for only 8 weeks, employers may be obligated to provide greater amounts of job-protected maternity leave under a collective bargaining agreement, company policy, or the federal FMLA.
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