Expectant mother has formula for pregnancy discrimination claim

From time to time, employers plan to issue a performance improvement plan (PIP) or terminate an employee only to learn the individual in question is pregnant, is requesting an accommodation, or claims to have been subjected to harassment or discrimination. The question then becomes, "Now what do we do?” Read on to learn why an Illinois employer’s answer to that question led to a pregnancy discrimination claim.

Morning sickness

Jelena Jasnic worked as a product manager for Bisco, Inc., which manufactures dental medical devices. She initially was supervised by Patrick Park, but Katherine Steyer became her supervisor in April 2019. In August 2019, Jasnic told Steyer she was six weeks’ pregnant. She then asked the supervisor to keep the information confidential, and the supervisor agreed to do so.

In September 2019, Steyer was directed by her supervisor, Carolyn Suh, to put Jasnic on a PIP. Bisco claimed her performance at an American Dental Association convention in San Francisco didn’t meet its expectations. In the only written basis for the PIP, the company claimed: