Reference no: EM13276585

Victoria Williams has been employed by TEDCO for 3 years. During that time, she has been an exemplary employee, repeatedly receiving the honor of being named employee of the month. TEDCO has 150 employees, 47 of them female, yet none of its female employees have young children. However, several of the male employees have young children. TEDCO provides health insurance and disability insurance for all full time employees. Victoria told a co-worker that she was pregnant. The co-workers warned her not to tell her supervisor, Brian. Victoria told Brian anyway, informing him that she intended to take 3 months off after she had the baby. Brian didn't like having pregnant women on his team. He thought they became inefficient, missed work due to "morning sickness" and to attend doctor's appointments, and were more emotional than non-pregnant workers. Furthermore, he didn't want Victoria to return to work after the baby was born because he didn't want to deal with the hassle of having an employee with a young child and all the potential issues that go along with it. Brian started to criticize Victoria's performance, claiming that her work was substandard and that she was not a productive member of the team. Brian fired Victoria in her 6th month of pregnancy. She found out later that Brian had fired another employee when she told him she was pregnant. Does Victoria have a valid claim for pregnancy discrimination against TEDCO? Explain the reasons for your answer. Does Victoria have a valid claim based on Brian's attitude towards women with young children? Again, explain your answer.