Woman Sues Former Employer, Claims She Was Fired For Taking Too Many Bathroom Breaks While Pregnant

Pregnant women usually have to urinate more often, even more so later in the pregnancy when it can be difficult to hold it in, as the excess weight presses on the bladder.

A woman from Portland, Oregon, claims that she was fired by the cellular phone chip manufacturer that she worked for, as she was taking too many bathroom breaks while she was pregnant with her second child in 2013.

Dawn Steckmann, who had been working for Maxim Integrated Products for 10 years before she was fired, said that the case was different during her first pregnancy in 2011. According to USA Today, Steckmann asked her supervisor if she had to clock out whenever she took bathroom breaks. Her supervisor told her not to bother with it.

For her second pregnancy, however, Steckmann was told that she was spending too much time inside the bathroom, and she should have been clocking out whenever she needed a bathroom break.

People was able to get a copy of the lawsuit, which states that Steckmann’s supervisor told her that the reason for her getting fired was because “not clocking out to use the restroom is stealing from the company.” She was also told that she could have seen an entire movie during the bathroom breaks that she took.

Steckmann is now seeking $400,000 in damages in the gender discrimination lawsuit. Even before she was let go from the company, Steckmann had already protested to Maxim Integrated Products’ CEO, saying that her supervisor favored male over female employees, as he was light on discipline with the males and they were always given the preferred tasks.

In addition, Steckmann said that her supervisor seemed unhappy when she told him that she was pregnant, and that she needed to go to the bathroom more often. The lawsuit states that Steckmann’s bladder issues were so bad that she won’t even have the time to clock out and “use the restroom without an incident.”

This is not the first time this has happened. In a report by Inquisitr, April Roller had the same experience when she was fired by National Processing of America for excessive bathroom breaks. In addition, she was also reprimanded for wearing comfortable shoes for her swollen feet.

Dawn Steckmann’s lawsuit was filed in Multnomah County last month. In addition to $400,000 in damages, Steckmann also wants to have her job back as a fabrication technician where she was paid $18.76 per hour.

[Image via mom365]