Columbus, OH: The Supreme Court of the Buckeye State is currently debating whether or not a company has the right to fire employees for taking pregnancy leave before they've worked long enough to qualify under Ohio employment law.
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The debate stems from an incident involving a Pataskala nursing home that allegedly fired a nurse in January 2004 after she presented a doctor's note claiming that she was unfit to work due to pregnancy-related swelling.Despite the company's policy requiring that employees remain with the nursing home for over a year before they qualify for pregnancy leave, the nurse, Tiffany McFee, took leave only eight months into the job.
The state is arguing that these policies discriminate against women who become pregnant.
"To become pregnant is tantamount to dismissal under a no-leave policy," said Solicitor General Benjamin C. Mizer in a statement to the Columbus Dispatch.
The Pataskala nursing home and a collection of other organizations located throughout Ohio are defending the decision by claiming that employers have the right to require tenure before allowing leave for their employees - maternity or otherwise.