Woman claims she was fired from job due to pregnancy, sues former boss
INWOOD, Manhattan (WABC) -- A woman from the Bronx says her hours were cut at work after she told her boss she was pregnant - and now, she is taking her complaint to court. She sued the owner, filing a lawsuit this week.
When the soon-to-be new single mom Chadel Reyes found out she was pregnant, it was unexpected, so she was worried.
"But I always thought I was going to work," she said.
The Bronx woman says she is exactly seven days from her due date, but she has not been working for months - she blames her former boss, owner and founder of the Twin Donut Chain.
"He tried to be friendly," she said.
But Reyes says he was too friendly.
"He wanted to touch my finger. I used to say no, then he used to say like 'can I get your little leg?" So I'm like 'no.' Sometimes he used to be asking me if he could take some pictures of me so he could take them home. He touched my butt," she added.
However, that is not why Reyes says she lost her job at the shop in Inwood. She says friends from work told her that her boss admitted he cut her hours because she is pregnant. So she decided to confront him and record it.
Reyes says she notified her former boss in April that she was pregnant, and says within weeks her hours were cut, and within a month she was unemployed.
Reyes is suing her former boss, George Psathas for lost wages and future earnings and damages. She also alleges sexual harassment.
Her attorney says because she lost her job, she can't even access the state paid family leave.
"What's unfortunate is Miss Reyes' situation is not that uncommon. Women throughout all industries face pregnancy discrimination," says Elizabeth Chen of 'A Better Balance.'
An employee at Twin Donut Shop told Eyewitness News that Psathas was gone for the day. Multiple attempts to reach him by the phone were unsuccessful. In other media reports, Psathas denied the allegations.
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