I was told I was pregnant on 11/12. As a waitress I went into work and told my boss a month later due to lifting over 20lb. Items. I was continuously harassed for 2 months after by a shift manager. I was told I should not be working anymore if Im not doing my job as everyone else had to do, Pregnant women should not be in the workplace, and had requested I get big ice bins and fill them and take them the long way to fill the ice machines. No one else had a problem with my pregnancy but this one shift manager. I brought it to my store assistant managers attention however he never followed up on it and I was told to leave it alone if I knew what was good for me. After that meeting on January my hours where drastically reduced and my Saturdays where token away as well as when I got in I was told not to argue with the manager and my station. I found several chairs token from my station and being a waitress I couldn't afford to miss that money. One shift I was even brought in and given a station that had no tables the entire shift I was made to run other stations food and bus. I didn't make any money that shift needless to say.
I was continually harassed until my back couldn't take it anymore and the last week of February I went onto Medical Leave from my job. I told them I was due on July 7 and I would be back 4 to 6 weeks after that. My employee handbook states while on leave we may ask for updates from time to time that you would have to respond on. I never got one call or written correspondence in the 5 months I was on leave.
I went in on July 19 and said hi to everyone. My manager was there and I told him I had the baby on July 19 and I wanted to come back. I called August 5th and asked if I could return on September 1st back to work. My store manager told me he would get back to me and he would see if I was still in the system or if he had to put me back in. I never got a call back so one week later the manager I had been harassed by answered the phone call I placed and I was put on hold. My store manager then answered the phone after a long wait and told me I could not return due to a long leave of absence and business being so slow he had no position to give me.
I then called HR and talked to a lady and she told me that I had been filed as quit my job due to not returning from a leave of absence. I told her I never quit and I would be filing a unemployment claim and she told me after several calls she would not argue and put the unemployment claim through.
I filled my claim on September 28th and was denied due to quiting my job. I never quit. I was on pregnancy related disability by my Dr. And was told I could have my job back after they heard when my due date was and the amount of time it took to heal after I gave birth. Im a waitress, those positions come and go. I do not understand why I would be harassed and then let go, or 'quit' after they knew what was going on.
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