Woman Shares How She Lost Jobs After Childbirth Despite Discrimination Laws

A woman went viral after claiming she was fired from two jobs after giving birth to her children, leaving viewers frustrated.

Allie, or @alliecat_55704_2, posted about her experience on TikTok in late June where it received more than 100,000 views and 640 comments, many from individuals sharing similar stories. The video can be found here.

Discrimination Laws

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) makes it illegal in the U.S. to discriminate against or fire an individual due to pregnancy.

Yet, the Equality and Human Rights Commission estimates that nearly 54,000 women lose their jobs each year due to pregnancy discrimination.

According to the results of the survey conducted by YouGov, half of the employers agree there is "sometimes resentment" amongst employees toward those who are pregnant or on maternity leave.

'I Lost Two Jobs'

In the video, Allie said it should be illegal to be laid off or fired after having a baby, but said she had three children and lost two jobs.

"I lost two jobs due to childbirth," the caption of the video read. "This discrimination towards new parents needs to end."

Allie explained that two of the pregnancies were considered "complicated" and required more time off than allowed by the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FLMA).

FMLA requires employers to cover unpaid, job-protected leave for medical or family reasons, including twelve work weeks per 12-month period.

Under FMLA, Employees Are Entitled to Time Off For:

• The birth of a child
• To care for a newborn child within one year of birth
• To care for a newly adopted or fostered child within one year of placement
• To care for an employee's child, spouse, or parent with a serious health condition
• Serious health conditions that make employees unable to perform job functions

Individuals related to seriously injured or ill service members are entitled to 26 workweeks of leave per year to care for the service member, also called military caregiver leave.

Allie explained that when she got pregnant with both children she was "gainfully employed" but that it "didn't matter after the child came."

She recalled one manager telling her to "look at it from our point of view, we have to replace you."

'I Felt Ashamed'

After losing her job, Allie said she struggled financially and was forced to liquidate her 401(k).

"I felt ashamed going to the WIC [Women, Children, Infants] office to get formula for my baby because I couldn't breastfeed alone," she said. "I had to request help for the medical bills that came, I couldn't afford them."

She said although it's been six years since she had her second child and went back to school, she has still not financially recovered.

"I'm a proud registered nurse," she said. "I'm definitely not lazy."

Viewer Reactions

More than 600 users commented on the woman's video, many sharing similar experiences.

"My previous boss told me he only hired unwed women so he didn't have to deal with pregnant employees or women with children," one user commented.

"No man has ever had to tell that story," another user commented.

"I have witnessed a new mother forced to quit her job because the supervisor purposely made a schedule she couldn't work," one user wrote.

"Miscarried and needed a D&C. Fired because procedures were done on Wed. and that was not convenient," one user commented. They wanted me to do it on a Fri to not miss work."

"Not to mention, you have to 'reclimb the ladder' each time this happens," another wrote.

Newsweek reached out to @alliecat_55704_2 for comment.

Other People's Stories

In June, a woman went viral on Reddit after claiming she was fired after asking her boss about maternity leave. The post received thousands of comments, many from users telling her to "lawyer up."

Another user stirred debate after sharing that he fired an employee who missed work to care for his sick wife.

In another viral Reddit post, a new mom was praised for calling out her boss when the boss demanded the woman either return to the office or resign.