Workers say Walmart is still punishing pregnant employees
“She couldn’t afford to lose her job. She had only just moved into her own apartment and started to be able to pay her bills. So she kept working at the Walmart in Jacksonville, Florida and lifting whatever she was asked to. It took just two weeks for her to injure herself picking up a box of chicken that weighed around 50 pounds. ‘I still deal with sciatica to this day from injuring myself at Walmart,’ she said. Then one day she requested information on taking a leave of absence, even though she knew she wouldn’t qualify for unpaid Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) time off because she hadn’t worked there long enough, thinking ahead to what she would do after her baby was born. Her managers called her into the office the same day and told her that the company no longer needed her services, she said. ‘They made me feel like me requesting for my FMLA and being pregnant was the issue,’ she said.”