09-24-2020
Deloitte, one of the big four U.S. accounting firms, offers paid parental leave for eligible employees. Specifically, employees may take “up to 16 weeks of paid leave, which can be used for happy occasions-to bond with family after the arrival of a child.” This policy is “gender-neutral-fathers, sons, husbands, and brothers can take the leave, relieving some of the often seen cultural pressure on women to be the default caregiver.”
Saxon Knight, a former Deloitte employee, claims she took advantage of that offered leave but was pushed out of her position when she returned to work. She alleges the following information in her lawsuit. Knight returned to Deloitte after an extended leave (almost six months) but she was no longer allowed to perform the job duties of her solutions manager position. Knight states that the company had no plan for her to perform any position. She tried to discuss what work she should be performing but her attempts were ignored. A Deloitte supervisor told Knight that she better find a role for herself or she would lose her job. Shortly after Knight communicated her concerns to the Lead Employee Relations Specialist, she was fired. During that conversation, the employee advised Knight that Deloitte had fulfilled its obligations by letting her have the title and paycheck but meaningful work was not required. More importantly, Knight alleges that Deloitte informed her that FMLA only required the company to hold her position for 12 weeks. Deloitte purportedly stated that had she returned earlier, her position would have been better protected. Knight alleged that she would have returned to work earlier had she known that she would be losing her right to her job for staying out longer.