Dec

2012 4

A lawsuit against National Processing of America — an inbound/outbound call center in Kansas City, KS — claims that the company fired an employee due to her high-risk pregnancy.

April Roller, who had previously been promoted to management in January of 2011, says the company tried to “accommodate” her morning sickness by offering her a larger wastebasket to vomit into. This would limit how frequent her trips to the restroom would be.

RIGHT. MAKE THE PREGNANT LADY PUKE INTO A BASKET IN FRONT OF EVERYBODY.

AND THEN CALMLY SLIDE IT BACK UNDER HER DESK.

Roller also claims that National Processing delayed her family leave paperwork and reprimanded her for wearing the special shoes she needed for her swollen feet. She was eventually demoted and then forced to transfer due to her condition, a transfer she refused:

“On another occasion, defendant’s manager told plaintiff that defendant did not ‘pay [her] to pee,’ objecting to plaintiff’s necessity to use the bathroom when plaintiff experienced nausea or dizziness due to her pregnancy conditions. Defendant’s manager claimed to plaintiff it was not ‘fair to other employees’ for plaintiff to take excessive bathroom breaks. When plaintiff complained about being told that defendant did not ‘pay [her] to pee,’ defendant characterized plaintiff’s need to take bathroom breaks due to the conditions of her pregnancy as being ‘constantly out of her desk.’”

Roller is suing the company for violations of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, Title VII and the Family Medical Leave Act.