Roman v. A&S Innersprings USA, LLC

Citations

• 223 Conn. App. 403

Syllabus

The plaintiff sought to recover damages for the alleged wrongful termination of her employment by the defendant, which she claimed was the result of pregnancy discrimination in violation of the Connecticut Fair Employ- ment Practices Act (§ 46a-51 et seq.). The plaintiff, who previously had worked for the defendant, was rehired in November, 2017, in a quality assurance position that required her to work on the defendant's manufac- turing floor. In January, 2018, the plaintiff notified the defendant that she was pregnant and, consequently, could no longer work in a manufac- turing position. Pursuant to the defendant's policy, as set forth in its employee handbook, any employee who was disabled as a result of pregnancy was entitled to an unpaid leave of absence and the defendant was required to make a reasonable effort to transfer the employee to any suitable temporary position that was available at the time it received notice of the employee's pregnancy. The plaintiff signed paperwork to take maternity leave on January 25, 2018. She alleged that, although there was an open administrative position in February, 2018, the defendant told her that no such position was available and encouraged her to ''stay home and take care of the baby.'' Between October, 2017, and October, 2018, the defendant experienced a significant downsizing of its business, reducing its workforce from approximately thirty-three employees to fourteen. In September and October, 2018, the plaintiff reached out to M, the defendant's chief executive officer, asking for a status update. M informed the plaintiff that the defendant was planning to hire a new administrative worker and that she could apply for the position, however, it was not yet being advertised. He encouraged her to reach out to her former supervisor, S, for additional information. In November, 2018, the plaintiff contacted S, who informed her that she could not return to her prior position, as the department it was in had closed and the