Question:
What happens if an employee can never get to work on time and is in a management role for a convenience store chain? The employee is unable to adequately perform her work duties because of being late. She also had the problem before becoming pregnant and was warned prior to becoming pregnant. Can I discipline or even terminate a pregnant employee who is always late if she has had previous issues with tardiness?
Answer:
There are 2 things to consider with your situation.
- Can you prove she was warned? Do you have good documentation of the pattern of tardiness over a period of time?
- Can you prove her tardiness (due to pregnancy) has become an undue hardship you cannot accommodate under the PWFA? The definition of undue hardship is: significant difficulty or expense. https://www.eeoc.gov/wysk/what-you-should-know-about-pregnant-workers-fairness-act
If you can prove these two points beyond any real argument, you can apply corrective action as per your company policy.
I would do a thorough think-through of all aspects before taking any next steps to be sure you are not setting yourself up for a discrimination claim by taking an adverse action.
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