April 28, 2008 -- Don't let the Red Door hit you on the way out.

That was the message from an Elizabeth Arden Red Door salon in Woodbury, LI, that fired an assistant sales manager for taking too much time off during her high-risk pregnancy, according to a lawsuit filed in Brooklyn federal court.

Sandra Madero, 35, of Valley Stream, said the company violated her rights and is suing the high-end salon for $4 million.

"I don't understand why they treated me like this," she said.

Madero became pregnant with her second child in 2005, while she said she was working 60 hours a week. When she began losing weight and having contractions, her doctor told her to cut back on hours.

Her bosses said that as a salaried staffer, she wasn't entitled to a lighter schedule, her suit alleges. Instead, she took unpaid leave under the Family Medical Leave Act, which allows pregnant workers to take three months off.

When the three months were up, she faced the same problem. Her doctor didn't want her working more than 30 hours a week - but her bosses wouldn't accept her taking on a lighter workload, the suit claims.

She used vacation days, and she was fired when those ran out - a week before her baby was born, the suit alleges.
PREGNANCY 'LEAVE' SUIT VS. SALON - New York Post

1) She'll obviously be better off with another employer.
Sounds like her superiors (and the company itself maybe) were real %@#$

2) It's amazing that this type of company response still exists these days.
She was pregnant, and medically needed to reduce her hours for health reasons.
She was working 60 hour weeks.
And the company balked???

Unless she is misrepresenting the company, this is absurd.

The fact that the company refused to comment kinda tells me that they are embarrassed about something...