hiring pregnant RN

Angelicpurl · Jul 26, 2016

We hired 2 nurses knowing they were pregnant. One was due so soon that she actually had the baby before her background checks came back!

The other decided to wait to start orientation until after she delivered. But as a supervisor who conducts a LOT of interviews, I know we cannot ask someone a whole list of questions, one being if they are pregnant or have children.

Sour Lemon · Jul 26, 2016

I get why employers would not want to hire someone who'll barely finish orienting and "getting up to speed" before going out on leave. That's not including the special accommodations some people request which essentially just shift work onto other employees.
Don't get me started on people who go out on maternity "leave" and use up all their sick and vacation time all the while knowing they have no intention of returning. Is it legal? Yes. Is it moral? I don't think so.

In some hospitals, you have to go on medical leave to use your vacation time. It never gets "approved" if you'd like to go on an actual vacation.

MunoRN, RN · Jul 26, 2016

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act doesn't guarantee that you can get and then keep a job while pregnant, all it says is that employers cannot decide not to hire you just because they don't like pregnant people, or that they assume you will take off more time than allowed. They can however hold you only being able to take off available sick time, you cannot use FMLA until you have worked there for a year. So if you plan on leaving for maternity leave and coming back, all within your normal time off plus whatever sick days you have then you're fine, if you want to take a few weeks or months off for maternity leave then they can consider your position vacated.

FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN · Jul 26, 2016

Does anyone have any experience with hiring a RN who is pregnant, or someone who was hired while pregnant? I was offered a position and they seemed to be very eager to have me, moved my start day up 2 weeks, completed all paperwork, drug screen, voided check, the whole everything. Took in immunization records and filled out an "employment health screening" question #2: "are you currently pregnant?" I checked yes
Soon after completing this ( a few hours after leaving) I get a call saying they would not be able continue with my starting date and was retracting their job offer because they were unable to contact one of my references. ..
Immediately I felt a relief because I was never set on this facility, but I knew it had to be because I was pregnant. They required 5 references, I gave 7 or 8, 6 answered. One they were unable to contact, so couldn't hire me. Sounds like an excuse.
Also I had another facility flat out tell me they didn't want to hire me because I was pregnant, because after training I would only be able to work a few months before being off for maternity leave, that I should wait until baby is born and then come there for a job.
I am 15 weeks.. able to hide the belly still, no complications or restrictions with this pregnancy, wanting to work nights.
Suggestions?

This is illegal, in both cases, and you should contact the ACLU. Best wishes for you.

babyNP., APRN · Jul 26, 2016

I get why employers would not want to hire someone who'll barely finish orienting and "getting up to speed" before going out on leave. That's not including the special accommodations some people request which essentially just shift work onto other employees.
Don't get me started on people who go out on maternity "leave" and use up all their sick and vacation time all the while knowing they have no intention of returning. Is it legal? Yes. Is it moral? I don't think so.

How is it not moral to use time that the employee earned for legitimate time off from work due to FMLA? I really don't understand your reasoning.

EDnurseNY · Jul 26, 2016

In a hospital I was working at, a CMA was hired on because we were incredibly short staffed on CMAs. She hid her stomach very well and never disclosed until the day she came in for orientation, and pretty much said "by the way, I'm pregnant and going out on leave in two weeks." Everyone was pretty pissed and really resented her for it, since there was an urgent need for more staff. She completely screwed us all over and put us back to where we were before she was hired.

I'm not saying places should be able to discriminate against pregnant women. I'm saying that they need to be able to prepare for this (maybe) temporary loss of an employee. It also seems like a good way to put yourself on their s**t-list, and they might look for reasons to get rid of you after something like that. I know working two weeks before leaving is an extreme example and I know I don't have a ton of experience yet, but it seems like a bad idea to me.

Sour Lemon · Jul 26, 2016

In a hospital I was working at, a CMA was hired on because we were incredibly short staffed on CMAs. She hid her stomach very well and never disclosed until the day she came in for orientation, and pretty much said "by the way, I'm pregnant and going out on leave in two weeks." Everyone was pretty pissed and really resented her for it, since there was an urgent need for more staff. She completely screwed us all over and put us back to where we were before she was hired.
I'm not saying places should be able to discriminate against pregnant women. I'm saying that they need to be able to prepare for this (maybe) temporary loss of an employee. It also seems like a good way to put yourself on their s**t-list, and they might look for reasons to get rid of you after something like that. I know working two weeks before leaving is an extreme example and I know I don't have a ton of experience yet, but it seems like a bad idea to me.

If staffing was that bad, it wasn't any one person's fault. Maybe the hospital should have paid more or treated their employees better.

EDnurseNY · Jul 26, 2016

If staffing was that bad, it wasn't any one person's fault. Maybe the hospital should have paid more or treated their employees better.

I agree with you that the staffing issue wasn't her fault. It was a bad situation all around and apparently we couldn't afford to hire even more people permanently for full-time. This wasn't after a mass quitting or anything. I'm saying that all of her co-workers (who also couldn't do anything about the staffing problem) were screwed over. If the manager had known beforehand, she could have tried to arrange something short-term until the CMA came back.

Staffing would still be an issue, but it wouldn't be like saying "Guess what, we've got at least some help on the way! ....Gotcha!"

Here.I.Stand, BSN, RN · Jul 26, 2016

Don't get me started on people who go out on maternity "leave" and use up all their sick and vacation time all the while knowing they have no intention of returning. Is it legal? Yes. Is it moral? I don't think so

Of course it's moral! PTO doesn't belong to the employee until they've already earned it. If they have it to take, it's because of the hours they have already worked. It's not like they're taking money they haven't earned.

Besides, at least for me STD didn't kick in until after I'd used up all of my sick time.

Jedrnurse, BSN, RN · Jul 26, 2016

I'm speaking about the company holding open a position for the person on leave, when in fact the person has already decided that they will not be returning after they've exhausted the cumulative sick and vacation time. They lie about their intention to return to work.

Asystole RN · Jul 26, 2016

I'm speaking about the company holding open a position for the person on leave, when in fact the person has already decided that they will not be returning after they've exhausted the cumulative sick and vacation time. They lie about their intention to return to work.

That makes sense Jed. The issue you have though is with lying and not about someone utilizing their compensation package to it's fullest.

I would agree to an extent with you. I do not think it is moral, professional, or wise to lie to an employer. Taking leave with the intention of never coming back to work is not lying nor unprofessional as long as notice is given in the prescribed manner.

There should be no requirement nor expectation for an employee to explain why they wish to utilize a vacation day, sick day, or other benefited time off. I am not sure how there would be a chance for an employee to lie unless the employer is being unethical and unjustly pressing the employee for justification?

NotAllWhoWandeRN, ASN, RN · Jul 26, 2016

In a hospital I was working at, a CMA was hired on because we were incredibly short staffed on CMAs. She hid her stomach very well and never disclosed until the day she came in for orientation, and pretty much said "by the way, I'm pregnant and going out on leave in two weeks." Everyone was pretty pissed and really resented her for it, since there was an urgent need for more staff. She completely screwed us all over and put us back to where we were before she was hired.
I'm not saying places should be able to discriminate against pregnant women. I'm saying that they need to be able to prepare for this (maybe) temporary loss of an employee. It also seems like a good way to put yourself on their s**t-list, and they might look for reasons to get rid of you after something like that. I know working two weeks before leaving is an extreme example and I know I don't have a ton of experience yet, but it seems like a bad idea to me.

Surely anyone who demands leave 2 weeks after hire is in violation of the attendance policy? It would be anywhere I've worked. A person who did that would have 2 weeks pay, no job, and a burned bridge.