Ohio High Court to Clarify Muddy Pregnancy Bias Law
November 18, 2009
(PLANSPONSOR.com) – The Ohio Supreme Court has agreed to take an appeal of a
long-running pregnancy discrimination case that has already drawn four formal
opinions – two favoring each side.
A client bulletin from the
Dinsmore & Stohl law firm said the saga of Nursing Care Management of
America d/b/a Pataskala Oaks Care Center v. Ohio Civil Rights Commission points up a broad split in legal
interpretation of the Buckeye State pregnancy discrimination laws.
The
law firm said a state administrative law judge and a state Common Pleas Court
jurist both ruled that the
Pataskala Oaks
Care Center had not discriminated against nurse Tiffany McFee who was fired when she took six weeks of leave
under
doctor’s orders
after giving birth in February 2004.
McFee later filed an Ohio
Civil Rights Commission (OCRC) complaint alleging her firing was illegal that eventually found its way into
court.
The long-term care facility
in Pataskala, Ohio, near Columbus, had a policy that
employees had to have a year of service before being eligible for a 12-week recuperation
leave. Officials there contended the
policy, for which McFee did not qualify, treated all employees equally
regardless of the reason for the extended time away from work.
Dinsmore & Stohl said it
was that notion that the administrative law judge and Common Pleas Court jurist
embraced.
On the other side of the
legal fence are the OCRC and judges at the state’s Fifth District Court of
Appeals. They have adhered to a contrary interpretation of the state
discrimination law, under which employers must provide maternity leave to any
employee who needs it regardless of whether the employee qualifies for leave
under the terms of the employer's policy.
The case accepted by the Supreme
Court is an appeal of the Fifth District ruling, according to Dinsmore &
Stohl.
“Ohioans -- employers and employees alike -- need
clarification on this issue,” the law firm commented. “Hopefully, with the
Pataskala Oaks case, the Supreme Court will clear up the confusion.”
The law firm's analysis is available here. The Ohio appellate court's ruling in the case is available here.
Fred Schneyer
editors@plansponsor.com