Madia Law Represents Victims of Sex and Pregnancy Discrimination at Work
You have the right to do your job without discrimination because of your gender. Sex discrimination includes discrimination based on pregnancy. Gender discrimination can be overt, such as unwanted comments, harassment, or gestures from peers or supervisors about your gender. That’s called hostile work environment discrimination and it’s illegal. The Minnesota Human Rights Act and Wisconsin law prohibits hostile work environment discrimination based on sex.
Sex discrimination can also be more subtle. It occurs when managers or supervisors favor other, similarly situated employees for promotions, raises, or other work benefits just because they happen to be a different gender. Employers may even go so far as to terminate employees or force them to quit based on their gender. This behavior is illegal in Minnesota, and you don’t have to tolerate it. Equal pay for equal work is the law of the land.
Representative Cases
Pregnancy discrimination results in $275,000 settlement.
We represented a woman, “Elissa,” who worked as a nursing assistant for several years and had great performance reviews. She was excited when she became pregnant. Her doctor gave her some work restrictions, including lifting restrictions of no more than 25 pounds, to give to her employer. Though her job description said that she needed to be able to lift 75 lbs., it wasn’t tied to actual essential functions that she did on a day to day basis. Her employer flatly told her, “We don’t do accommodations.” Her employer didn’t care when she said that she was able to continue doing her job as she always had and terminated her employment – it said she could re-apply after she had her baby. We litigated this case all the way through summary judgment – the employer then settled for $275,000.
Transgender discrimination results in $150,000 settlement.
We also represented “Jeanne,” a transgender female who was repeatedly denied promotions at a large Minnesota employer. Jeanne’s boss was personally offended at Jeanne’s transition from male to female and blocked her promotion in favor of other less qualified and less successful employees. Within weeks of Jeanne retaining Madia Law, we secured a settlement in Jeanne’s favor of nearly $150,000, without ever filing suit.
Sex discrimination can come in many forms, including paying men and women differently for no other reason than gender. For example, Madia Law sued a medical services company in a class action lawsuit because the company was paying women substantially less than men who were in lower positions and less qualified and educated. The company quickly resolved the lawsuit, agreeing to pay the women the money they had lost plus an additional amount for failing to do so in the first place.
Please note that every case is different, with its own unique facts. You should contact Madia Law to discuss your sex discrimination case in detail and get an accurate assessment of its value.
You May Be Entitled to Lost Wages, Emotional Distress Compensation, and Attorney Fees
If you have been the victim of sex discrimination, you may be entitled to back pay and front pay damages, emotional distress compensation, treble damages under the Minnesota Human Rights Act, punitive damages under both the Minnesota Human Rights Act and Title VII, and your attorney fees and costs.
Contact Our Discrimination Lawyers Today
You must act quickly when it comes to filing a claim for discrimination based on gender. If you wait, there may be strict statutes of limitation that will bar you from filing your claim. Call Madia today to discuss your case.
