‘You can be just a little bit pregnant,’ says Texas court

Yes, our parents were wrong, at least as far as the law is concerned—turns out you can be just a little bit pregnant. The Texas Court of Appeals in Corpus Christi said so in an opinion issued on February 11. To solve and understand the apparent riddle, read on.

Office talk triggers termination

Cynthia V. Arriola began working for South Texas College (STC) as an accounting group manager in March 2009. In July 2017, she married. The happy nuptials were followed by talk with coworkers and supervisors that she was attempting to become pregnant.

According to Arriola, her aspirations to become a mom fell flat with her managers and led to harassment and discipline. After she complained to a supervisor about the treatment, the end came quickly with her termination following in October 2017. (Because of the case’s procedural posture, the opinion doesn’t discuss STC’s version of events.)

Arriola sued alleging she was fired in violation of the prohibition against pregnancy discrimination in the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act (TCHRA).

Can you be just a little bit pregnant?

The appeals court agreed with the trial court and emphatically said yes you can be a little bit pregnant. But, the law prohibits discrimination because of pregnancy, and Arriola wasn’t pregnant when she was let go. For STC, 1+1=2. Therefore, no claim, right?

The appeals court disagreed with the college’s math. It reasoned that only women can become pregnant and then cited a similar case: