Woman Sues Gap For Miscarriage

[ljwf22]

Totally off topic, but Mabel I love your line you use ....The above is my opinion only - and perhaps that of my husband.
I'll let him know when I decide :twocents:
I may have to steal that one.

Off Topic: I love this one of Mabel's: What if the hokey pokey really is what it's all about? Great line!

 

[beakiebean]

I think knocking someone for being young and working at the Gap and being pregnant is a rather elitist attitude. I know lots of solidly blue collar people (hubby and I among them) who have kids, watch their pennies, and are great parents. Money is nice but you can be a good parent without having tons of money. My daughter has a roof over her head, clothes on her back, healthy food in her tummy, and more toys than she knows what to do with (although I'm blaming the grandparents for the obscene amount of toys).

Regardless of her "parental fitness" she shoudn't have been required to lift the boxes if she had a doctor's note stating that she shouldn't lift that much. Would have it been wiser to walk out or refuse-probably-but I'm not going to throw sticks at her because I don't know her situation.

 

[GlitchWizard]

You are responsible for your own pregnancy and if you are told not to lift boxes, you don't lift boxes. If someone tells you you have to swallow arsenic, you don't do that either.

That being said, on a side note:
My teenage daughter and her giggly friend were walking in the mall with me and we saw three mannequins. Two had bikini tops and bottoms, and one just had the top. I was being ornery and told them they HAD to confront the store manager to put panties on the mannequin. They were giggly and squirmy and got to the manager, laughing.

Then... before they could get out more than "there are no panties on the statue out front" in a loud voice I said "I REALIZE YOU ARE ADVERTISING THE NAME OF THE STORE..." (The GAP) and both girls turned brilliant shades of red, ran out of the store and now they won't even walk in front of it!


Score one for me!

 

[beakiebean]

You are responsible for your own pregnancy and if you are told not to lift boxes, you don't lift boxes. If someone tells you you have to swallow arsenic, you don't do that either.

I agree that if the doc tells you not to lift boxes you shouldn't-however-no employee should be put in the position that she has to do something to endanger her pregnancy or lose her job. If the Gap or one of their employees put a pregnant woman in that position then they need to be held accountable for it. Even if she hadn't lifted the boxes and had walked out or been fired the Gap would have been wrong in my opinion.

 

[Jeana (DP)]

I agree that if the doc tells you not to lift boxes you shouldn't-however-no employee should be put in the position that she has to do something to endanger her pregnancy or lose her job. If the Gap or one of their employees put a pregnant woman in that position then they need to be held accountable for it. Even if she hadn't lifted the boxes and had walked out or been fired the Gap would have been wrong in my opinion.

Seems to me that the turn-over at retail is pretty high. We don't know if the supervisor of this employee was made aware of the doctor's note. If he/she wasn't and the employee made the supervisor aware of the situation and the supervisor still sid that should be required to lift the boxes, then it was up to her to take personal responsibility and refuse to do so, accepting the consquences of same.

 

[bykerladi]

If she had refused to lift the boxes, and she had, in fact, made management aware of the doctors note, and THEN she had been fired, she would've had a cause of action under the ADA PLUS would have a healthy baby.

 

[Details]

If she had refused to lift the boxes, and she had, in fact, made management aware of the doctors note, and THEN she had been fired, she would've had a cause of action under the ADA PLUS would have a healthy baby.

A cause of action - but how does that pay the rent or the medical bills?

Sure, you'll get paid back, but that doesn't make up for however many months or years it takes for the lawyers to argue about your case, during which you don't have a job nor medical insurance.

She probably hoped that lifting the boxes would be OK. I didn't follow all of my doctors orders either during my pregnancy - they're sometimes so overcautious it's ridiculous!

 

[bykerladi]

I've never been pregnant, but I think that if a doctor told me not to lift boxes I'd listen. Now, if a doctor told me not to eat M&Ms, maybe I'd ignore him. But I thought that she knew she was at risk. She should've went on disability or something.

 

[beakiebean]

If she had refused to lift the boxes, and she had, in fact, made management aware of the doctors note, and THEN she had been fired, she would've had a cause of action under the ADA PLUS would have a healthy baby.

Right-but that isn't the choice she made and she can't go back and change it in hindsight. No matter how bad her decision the Gap was still in the wrong to force the issue of lifting the boxes after she told them she wasn't allowed to do to her pregnancy. Her lifting the boxes doesn't negate the fact that it was wrong of the Gap to continue to require her to lift the boxes after being told she couldn't. (I am, of course, assuming the story is true as reported-there could certainly be more to it that I don't know)

 

[JBean]

I have a friend that was a manager at at Bath and Body Works. At 43, she had a stroke. B&BW held her job while she was ill. They held her job while she rehabbed. But her stroke left her with balance and strength issues, so consequently she couldn't climb a ladder or carry boxes. both were requirements of her job, so they couldn't keep her on. She had to leave.They would have kept her if she could fulfill the job. She didn't feel as though she could, so she left.

So, sounds to me like GAP kept her job for her, but since she couldn't do what was required she was asked to leave, but she didn't. She chose to stay and do the things her doctor told her not to.
My friend could have stayed, but she was afraid she'd fall off a ladder, so she opted out.
I think this is the lady's own fault. JMHO.

 

[tybee204]

A cause of action - but how does that pay the rent or the medical bills?

Sure, you'll get paid back, but that doesn't make up for however many months or years it takes for the lawyers to argue about your case, during which you don't have a job nor medical insurance.

She probably hoped that lifting the boxes would be OK. I didn't follow all of my doctors orders either during my pregnancy - they're sometimes so overcautious it's ridiculous!

Details
Im not understanding why a business should have to retain an employee that cannot do the job they were hired to do. Why is it the employers obligation to financially support a person not doing their job? You keep referring to how it can be financially devasting to lose ones job or insurance. It can be just as financially devasting to a small business that is forced to retain and pay an employee's wage and benefits when they are not producing what they were hired to produce.

 

[JBean]

Details
Im not understanding why a business should have to retain an employee that cannot do the job they were hired to do. Why is it the employers obligation to financially support a person not doing their job? You keep referring to how it can be financially devasting to lose ones job or insurance. It can be just as financially devasting to a small business that is forced to retain and pay an employee's wage and benefits when they are not producing what they were hired to produce.

I agree with this. I don;t know if this was discussed, but why wouldn't she go on disability? That's what it's for.

 

[Amraann]

I would have stayed and NOT lifted boxes.

Because the course for my boss would be only to write me up. I would have told the witch to put it in writing and documented it myself in writing every time.

I did not knock her for being young ,pregnant and working at the gap.
I was replying to a previous post.
I find an issue with this women blaming the Gap for her own bad choices.

 

[bykerladi]

Plus, as I've said before, we don't know the whole story - we only know her side. Are we sure she told the GAP that her doctor told her not to lift boxes? Are we sure she showed them documentation of this limitation? Are we sure this woman didn't have other problems with the GAP prior to this incident?