Georgia law restricts abortions, but doesn’t protect pregnant women in the workforce

ATLANTA - When her boss at the pizza restaurant fired her over text, Jaylee Morrison could hardly believe her eyes.

"I didn't know u were lactating," the message said, "and we don't have breaks to pump every 25 minutes when u r the only server on."

Morrison had given birth to her son, Asher, eight months earlier and said she only asked for one five- to ten-minute break to pump.

"I was like, this cannot be real," the 21-year-old from Paulding County told the FOX 5 I-Team.

She also thought she had the restaurant dead to rights for a lawsuit. But after hiring an attorney and filing a federal discrimination complaint, she found out she’s out of luck. That’s because Georgia has no law against pregnancy discrimination. While it's barred by federal law, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act doesn’t cover what happened to Morrison.

"Georgia has no laws that protect employees," said Atlanta labor attorney Amanda Farahany, who did not represent Morrison but reviewed her case for the I-Team. "But in particular, they don't have any laws to protect pregnant employees. There is the federal law that protects employees, and the federal law only applies to companies that have 15 or more employees."

Given Georgia’s six-week abortion ban – recently reinstated by the Georgia Supreme Court after a Fulton County judge struck it down – some lawmakers and women's rights advocates say the state should do more to protect working moms.

"If you’re going to make women have kids, then you should at least allow them to work," Farahany said.

A gap in the law?

Georgia is one of three states with no laws protecting pregnant women in the workforce, along with Mississippi and Alabama.

It’s something Farahany is trying to change. Earlier this year, she helped draft the Pregnancy Protection Act, a proposed Georgia law allowing women to sue for pregnancy discrimination, with a threshold of 10 employees.

Sen. Brian Strickland, who chairs the Senate Judicial Committee, introduced the bill in the Georgia Senate.

"I’m proud to say I’m pro-life," Strickland, R-McDonough, said during a hearing on the bill in February. "But it’s beyond just protecting the baby. I think it also includes protecting the mother."

Though it had bipartisan support, the bill never reached the Senate or House floors and died at the end of the legislative session.

Strickland said some lawmakers had concerns about adding regulations on businesses, and they wanted to see how new federal protections for pregnant women play out.

However, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which took effect last year, only applies to businesses with 15 or more employees. And the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, also taking effect last year, didn’t help Morrison either because it falls under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. So if a business can prove an undue hardship – such as having only one waitress on a shift – workers aren’t covered.

Strickland said he plans to re-introduce the Georgia bill in the next session, and he will hold a hearing on it next month in a study committee he chairs on childcare affordability.

"If we’re going to choose life as a state, then we’ve got to have the full package of support," Strickland told the I-Team.

Fired after a day

If the bill comes back up, Farahany said she may ask Morrison to testify at the state Capitol next year about losing her waitressing job.

Morrison told the I-Team she had only worked one shift at the pizza restaurant, her first time back in the workforce since the birth. In the texts, her boss also brought up how she'd made a few time-off requests for family issues, saying, "I think it's best we just see this as a sign and part ways sorry."

"I was mad, I was stressed, I was anxious," Morrison said. "And then now the thought of, 'Oh, I'm gonna have to scramble for another job because I need the money now.'"

So she hired a lawyer and filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a required step for her to make a discrimination claim. But that all came to a halt when an EEOC investigator sent her attorney an email saying her former boss had "submitted additional documentation, which supports her claim that she did not have enough employees over a period of 4-quarters, and the Commission does not have jurisdiction."

"I think they had around ten to twelve" employees, Morrison said.

Her ex-boss declined to speak with the I-Team, but in an emailed statement said, "We deny any allegations that we have violated any law or acted in any way detrimental to this former employee. We are in compliance with all applicable laws and wish her all the best for her future."

Asked if the pizza restaurant did anything wrong, Farahany said, "Of course that employer has done something wrong. But the employer will not be held responsible for it because that employer has too few employees to be covered by the federal law."

"This is a woman who's just had a child. She's trying to take care of herself and her family," the attorney said. "That we don't have laws that make that illegal in Georgia, to me, is stunning."

‘It was completely different’

If passed by the legislature, the Pregnancy Protection Act would allow women to sue in Superior and State courts, instead of relying on federal courts. Georgia’s federal judges, following precedents set by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, are known for dismissing a lot of discrimination cases before they ever reach a jury.

Farahany says moving cases to local courts would help even women working for larger companies, such a client of her firm who is suing RaceTrac.

Amie Loudermilk, 24, accused the Atlanta-based company of cutting off her paychecks after she told a manager at a Cherokee County gas station that she was pregnant and asked for a lighter workload.

Her federal complaint says the company took her off the schedule and put her on unpaid medical leave.

"From the day I told them that I was pregnant, it was completely different," she said.

The company has denied her allegations in court documents and declined to comment for FOX 5.

"While we cannot comment on pending litigation, RaceTrac takes such claims seriously and we are committed to addressing them," the statement said. "We pride ourselves on being a values-driven employer that fosters a supportive and inclusive workplace for all employees."