• Home
  • News
    • Politics & Government
    • Business & Economy
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
  • Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Radio Iowa Poll
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support Page
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters

Radio Iowa

Iowa's Radio News Network

You are here: Home / Crime / Courts / Supreme Court orders new trial in maternity case

Supreme Court orders new trial in maternity case

August 28, 2009 By Dar Danielson

The Iowa Supreme Court says a Linn County woman who was fired after returning to work from maternity leave should get a new trial. Elizabeth DeBoom worked as marketing director for a company called Raining Rose when she was fired in 2004 eight days after returning to full-time work from maternity leave.

Officials with the company told her she hadn’t caught up enough after returning to work. DeBoom filed suit saying the company fired her because of her sex and pregnancy. The company said DeBoom was not protected because she wasn’t pregnant when she was fired, and that she did not present enough evidence to show her firing was based on discrimination.

A jury ruled in favor of the company, but DeBoom appealed based on the jury instructions that she says prejudiced her claim of discrimination. The Iowa Supreme Court ruled the jury instruction provided by the district court required DeBoom to prove her sex or pregnancy was a “determining” factor in her termination and made it tougher to prove. Download PDF

The high court said that although Iowa has yet to determined whether the prohibition against firing someone “disabled by pregnancy” includes women who have recently given birth or taken maternity leave — the federal courts have interpreted that it does. So the court ordered that DeBloom be given a new trial.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Crime / Courts

Featured Stories

Iowans 65+ now eligible in next phase of Covid vaccinations

Bill would remove transfer limits in five Iowa school districts

Former Iowa sports talk host sentenced to federal prison for ticket scams

Feenstra only member of Iowa delegation not at Biden’s inauguration

Congresswoman Axne favors Biden pandemic relief plan, Hinson not ruling out a ‘yes’

TwitterFacebook
Tweets by RadioIowa

Unbeaten Drake visits Missouri State

UNI adds two nonconference games to basketball schedule

Iowa State-Kansas postponed

Iowa-Michigan State postponed

Fire damage to Riverfront Stadium electrical system will cost Waterloo thousands

More Sports

eNews and Updates

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Archives

Copyright © 2021 ยท Learfield News & Ag, LLC