Nasty Gal is looking at a lawsuit for laying off pregnant women

Popular e-commerce website Nasty Gal is looking at a nasty lawsuit.

The company that had 3 rounds of layoffs last year, fired 4 pregnant women and one man who was going to go on paternity leave . Jezebel reported that Aimee Concepcion, the head of the home goods department, was the one who filed the compliant.

Other terminated employees included 8 month pregnant Etalia Gold, Anne Coelen a mother just returning from maternity leave, Gilberto Murillo who was about to go on paternity leave, and Rosa Lieberberg just a couple weeks after announcing her pregnancy to co-workers.

The company was going to give Concepcion off 6 weeks if she delivered vaginally and 8 weeks if she under went a C-section.  Since Concepcion had not worked for the company for the total of 12 months required by the California Family Rights Act they claimed they did not need to give her maternity to leave. But according to the Pregnancy Discrimination Leave Law if an employer provides health insurance for an employee, they are required to give that employee up to 4 months for a pregnancy related leave.

Concepcion was told her layoff was due to budget reasons and not performance related issues. She also reported that they had tried to get her to sign a wavier that would prohibit her from suing the company.

 

According to Fashionista a rep for Nasty Gal claimed

“The accusations made in the lawsuits are false, defamatory and taken completely out of context. The layoffs in question were part of a larger restructuring of departments we completed over nine months ago. The lawsuits are frivolous and without merit.”

These accusations are shocking because Nasty Gal portrays itself as a pro-feminist company. Founder, former CEO, and author of #GirlBoss Sophia Amoruso built the company around empowering the free thinking woman.

 

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