In May, a woman filed a complaint against her employer Merck & Co. She alleged that the company established and followed policies of a sexually discriminating nature, and encouraged managers to not fire potential employees who are female.
She also alleged that the company discriminated against pregnant employees. Merck is the country’s second largest drug manufacturer. She is suing Merck for more than $100 million.
The woman claims that she was personally discriminated against after she took time off for maternity leave. She says that after returning to work she received performance evaluations that inaccurately assessed her work performance, and that her career was damaged by several other actions taken against her by Merck. According to the woman, female employees of the company are treated differently and that discrimination is actually encouraged.
In addition to her personal experiences, the woman says that the company has several discriminatory policies, which are detrimental to women employees and which actually discourage management from hiring women. She says that by linking the compensation of directors and managers to the employees they supervise, it provides them with reason to hire fewer women. When a woman employee must take maternity leave, this will affect the pay of her supervisor. As you can imagine this may seriously cause supervisors to think twice before hiring any women employees. If this allegation is discovered to be true, it would certainly be indicative of practices that are promote gender discrimination.
Because she is not the only woman who has been discriminated against by this company, she hopes to file a class action lawsuit on behalf of all of the women discriminated against by Merck.
Maternity leave is federally protected and gender discrimination is prohibited. An employee who feels as if his or her rights have been violated in the workplace and an employer or work policy is discriminatory, can pursue a lawsuit against the employing company.
Employees who feel discriminated against by a Missouri employer should contact a Missouri personal injury attorney or employment attorney. Discrimination and unfair practices must be addressed legally. While many employees feel intimidated and trapped when they experience discrimination or harassment by an employer. Because an employer is in a position of authority, abusing that authority is especially egregious.
Not every situation where an employee feels unfairly treated will count as discrimination or sex discrimination like this Merck employee alleges. Contacting an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible will help to determine your options and identify whether you have been the victim of workplace sex discrimination.
Not every type of discrimination is against the law. Sexual discrimination is prohibited under federal law, however, and most states have enacted their own laws regarding sexual discrimination as well. Retaliation by employers against employees who have filed a complaint of sexual harassment is also illegal. Missouri law addresses these issues, prohibiting discrimination with regard to pregnancy, gender, compensation, and sexual harassment. If you have been discriminated against, contact a Missouri personal injury attorney as soon as possible.
