Dawn Steckmann, a Portland, Oregon, woman, claims she was recently fired for taking too many bathroom breaks on the job while carrying her second child. The former technician at Maxim Integrated Products is filing a gender and discrimination lawsuit against the Beaverton, Ore., cell phone chip manufacturer. She says her bosses never told her she had to clock out before using the restroom, and you won’t believe the grounds she says higher-ups used to can her: Her lawsuit claims one supervisor told her she had been fired for stealing because “not clocking out to use the restroom is stealing from the company.” While that seems crazy, she said the same boss informed her that she could’ve just as easily been “watching a movie” during bathroom breaks. According to the lawsuit, Steckmann worked at the company for 10 years, and claims she discussed this with her supervisor during her first pregnancy. In 2011, she openly said that she needed more frequent bathroom breaks and asked if she needed to clock out. Her boss told her not to bother, she says. Even before she was fired, Steckmann complained that her supervisor favored male employees, assigning the best tasks to them and using less discipline. When she told her supervisor in January 2013 she was pregnant for the second time, he “appeared unhappy with the news,” the lawsuit stated. Because of a bladder condition stemming from her first pregnancy, she needed to relieve herself even more often during her second, and more quickly. “[Steckmann’s] bladder issues were so severe that she would not even have had time to clock out to use the restroom without an accident,” the lawsuit states. The lawsuit was filed last month in Multnomah County. Steckmann is seeking $400,000 in damages, and an attorney for the company did not comment. What do you think? Does she have a case? Discuss.
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Pregnant Woman Fired For Taking Too Many Bathroom Breaks on the Job
