Facts

Plaintiff Bridgette Johnson, 30, was an MRI coordinator at defendant St. Luke's Hospital. In March 2005, plaintiff informed defendant she was pregnant. Plaintiff was warned about about excessive absences before and after she notified her employer of her pregnancy. In early April, she informed her supervisor she was no longer pregnant. Plaintiff complained to human resources about being harassed and discriminated against in connection with the warning about attendance and being placed on a performance improvement plan. In June 2005, defendant terminated plaintiff for failing to improve her job performance. She sued defendant for wrongful termination and pregnancy discrimination.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
The plaintiff contended her supervisor reacted negatively to her pregnancy. She took time off intermittently between December 2004 and mid-April 2005, when she miscarried. The defendant unfairly issued a warning about plaintiff's excessive absences, then failed to investigate her complaint. Instead, it threatened to terminate her employment unless she improved in 19 performance areas. The plaintiff was fired on June 16 and did not discover the results of the human resources investigation into her complaint until after that date. The plaintiff's allegedly substandard performance was a pretext for retaliating against her complaint about defendant's pregnancy discrimination.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
The defendant contended plaintiff's poor performance and excessive absences predated her pregnancy. She never informed defendant her time off work was related to her condition. The decision to place plaintiff on a performance improvement plan was made before she made any complaints of harassment or discrimination. She lost her job due to poor work quality and failure to improve her performance according to the plan.

Damages

The plaintiff sought damages for lost wages and emotional distress.

Result

Judge Patrick Mahoney determined plaintiff's poor job performance proximately caused her termination. He dismissed her pregnancy discrimination and retaliation claims and decided in favor of the defense. However, the parties agreed to settle the case prior to announcement of the ruling.

Other Information

Insurer: Chubb for St. Luke's Hospital.