"Plaintiff was terminated ... because she was a pregnant" Garrison v Bloomberg

[denem]

A witness to the "kill it" conversation, David Zielenziger, has gone on the record with WaPo. Ask yourselves, if Bloomberg was a nominee for SCOTUS, would Senate Dems be asking for an investigation?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/politics/michael-bloomberg-women/

Excerpt from Garrison v Micheal Bloomberg, Bloomberg LP.

SEKIKO SAKAI GARRISON, Plaintiff,: Case No. 97 Civ. 4474 (Patterson)
- against
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG and BLOOMBERG, L.P., : (Jury Trial Demanded)
Defendants.

On April 11, 1995 at approximately 11:20 a.m., Bloomberg was having a photograph taken with two female Company salespeople and a group of N.Y.U. Business School students, in the company snack area. When Bloomberg noticed Garrison standing nearby, he asked, "Why didn't they ask you to be in the picture? I guess they saw your face. "

Continuing his penchant for ridiculing recently married women in his employ, Bloomberg asked plaintiff, "How's married life? You still' married?" Plaintiff responded that her marriage was great and was going to get better in a few months: that she was pregnant, and the baby was due the following September. He responded to her "Kill it!" Plaintiff asked Bloomberg to repeat himself, and again he said, "Kill it!" and muttered, "Great! Number 16! " suggesting to plaintiff his unhappiness that sixteen women in the Company had maternity-related status. Then he walked away.

Plaintiff understood the statements of Bloomberg to mean that she should have an abortion in order to keep her job. She was visibly distraught by these remarks. She immediately told several managerial people in the Company about the incident and the distress and feelings of illness it caused her. These managers told her to ignore the comment, forget it ever happened and not to act on her complaint. These managers reiterated threats of termination if plaintiff pressed the complaint.

Plaintiff returned to work on April 12, 1995 but she was too distraught and ill to remain there. On April 13, 1995, she called in sick. Thereafter, plaintiff's condition did not improve, and Bloomberg LP listed her as "out ill." She continued to receive her monthly pay by direct deposit for the months of April and May, 1995.

The contents of her desk at work were emptied into several boxes but only one of the boxes was made available to her. Defendants retained her rolodex files with the names, addresses and telephone numbers of all of her business and personal acquaintances that she had before joining the Company, and her personal computer disks and other personal effects.

On June 30, 1995, plaintiff made a written demand on Bloomberg LP for continued sick pay as a result of the April 11, 1995 incident and for inception of maternity leave with pay as of September 15, 1995.

By letter dated July 10, 1995, plaintiff was advised by Bloomberg LP that her employment with the defendants was terminated effective May 31, 1995 and that, as of that date, she had been suspended from health and life insurance benefits without notice.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/context/sekiko-sakai-garrison-v-michael-bloomberg-and-bloomberg-l-p/6d9bea84-4783-4b88-8866-26bddfb14b6d/

[R B Garr]

1. This kinda reads that she abandoned her job...?

She basically quit showing up. She could have documented her pregnancy more with doctor notes, etc.

I don’t doubt that Bloomberg is/was a jerk as many women described. But this one sounds a little off.

[denem]

3. Worthy of investigation if being nominated for SCOTUS?

But Warren should shut up, because Bloomberg is only seeking the nomination for POTUS?

[R B Garr]

4. What does Warren have to do with this??

Who said it shouldn’t be investigated.

Just looking at the dates, she was paid for April and May but she quit showing up in April. Then she applied for maternity leave...? It just seems she would have a trail of Doctor visits to document her position/condition.

[denem]

5. Warren raised the case in the SC debate.

[R B Garr]

6. I was reading from the article posted.

It reads as though she abandoned her job.

[denem]

8. She alleges she became seriously ill after the "kill it" conversation.

There would be records of medical reports submitted to Bloomberg LP. And heaven knows, she could not have been traumatized and concerned about miscarriage.

[R B Garr]

11. Are the Doctor visits part of the article?

That’s what I said was noticeable was absence of Doctor visits in the article.

It reads that she went back to work the day after the alleged Bloomberg comment, then quit showing up. It reads that she was paid for a month in May that she didn’t show up...

If you are employed and quit showing up, I imagine you start forfeiting rights no matter how upset you are.

[denem]

13. This is the case summary of the complaint subject to the NDA.

The questions you are asking - would you like them to be aired during the General Election?

Defendants did not pay plaintiff for the month of June 1995, and told her no further compensation would be paid. They also refused to pay her any maternity leave, did not pay her three weeks' accrued vacation pay, failed to pay her the value of her earned equity certificates, and failed and refused to process, or to reimburse her for, business expenses she had incurred before her termination

[R B Garr]

14. So, no, that's the answer to my question is that

there is no published fact pattern in the article that shows how she documented her position with DOCTOR VISITS.

It still sounds like she quit showing up in April. But she was paid for April and May.

Then she tried to file maternity leave in June. edit:not maternity leave—she wanted more sick leave —then three months later in September, she filed for maternity leave...Something in the fact pattern regarding her employment separation is missing. DOCTOR VISITS??

When do we get to read paragraphs from Trump’s lawsuits for the GE??

Again...I’m sure Bloomberg is/was a jerk like many women said, but this one seems a bit off.

[denem]

15. She was advised on July 10 that her employment was terminated effective May 31

after informing them of upcoming maternity leave on June 30.

[R B Garr]

16. It sounds like she didn't show up for work for half of April and all of May and

the article doesn't state how she documented her illness. Then she wanted more sick leave in June. How many other pregnant women just quit showing up for work but want full pay without the medical documentation.

Anyway, it doesn't sound like she was "fired" for being pregnant, as seems to be the claim. It reads as though she quit showing up and her employment separation has more to do with that.

She wanted sick leave in June (per the article). Then she filed for maternity leave in September...? (per the article).

[denem]

17. She filed for maternity leave in June,

commencing in September. She was advised in July, that her employment has terminated, effective May 31.

[R B Garr]

18. It says in the article that she wanted more sick leave in June.

It sounds like she quit showing up halfway through April and all of May. It reads like she didn't document her medical conditions. She was paid for a full month in May while not being there. If you neglect to document your absence from work, then you forfeit rights, whether you are pregnant or mad at your boss.

It doesn't sound like she was fired for being pregnant, as is the claim.

edit; from the article:
"On June 30, 1995, plaintiff made a written demand on Bloomberg LP for continued sick pay as a result of the April 11, 1995 incident and for inception of maternity leave with pay as of September 15, 1995. "

[denem]

19. No. She was demanding that she be paid.

The FMLA provides for up to 12 weeks unpaid sick leave.

If you neglect to document your absence There is no evidence that she neglected to document her absence. This woman was a senior executive. Bloomberg LP is renown for requiring a doctors note for any leave at all -even if contrary to law.

Bloomberg’s Firm Violated Sick Leave Law He Vetoed As Mayor, But Now Supports

The media firm that made presidential hopeful Mike Bloomberg a billionaire agreed to revise its paid sick leave policy in September after a city probe spurred by an anonymous whistleblower, documents show.

The late-2018 complaint against Bloomberg LP’s Midtown headquarters alleged the company was requiring some employees to provide a doctor’s note after calling in sick for one or two days — in violation of the city’s stringent paid sick leave law. The law bars employers from demanding a note until after Day 3.

As mayor of New York City, Bloomberg vetoed an early version of the current paid sick leave legislation in 2013 — arguing it would be burdensome for small businesses, harmful to the economy and costly to enforce.

https://thecity.nyc/2020/01/bloombergs-firm-violated-sick-leave-law-he-vetoed-as-mayor.html

[R B Garr]

20. lol, the new article posted is from 2018. Her case was from the mid-90's.

So her case was about 25 years ago. Nothing applies to her case as it is presented in the first article posted. The first article posted reads that she quit showing up for half of April and all of May, and she was paid for that time.

Again...…..it looks like there was something in how she separated from her employment rather than that she was pregnant.

About the FMLA, I just went through that personally, and you need written documentation from a doctor. You don't just quit showing up for work and then start sending written demands for full pay after you abandoned your job.

[denem]

21. Look, I get it. You are an apologist, playing defense attorney for Bloomberg.

The correspondence between Garrison and Bloomberg LP are subject to an NDA - but you are assuming the best case for Bloomberg - that no written documentation was provided - the woman simply abandoned her job.

There is an on-the-record witness to Bloomberg telling Garrison to "kill it". It's dynamite for the GOP in a general election. The workplace described in the complaint is toxic to women, and there have been 40+ NDAs covering complaints about sexual harassment /gender discrimination at Bloomberg LP.

If this guy was a still a Republican, you would not have a bar of it. Then again, perhaps if Kavanagh had been a Democratic nominee, you might have spent your time discounting Christine Blasey Ford.

[R B Garr]

23. Look, you don't get a thing. You especially don't get to label me when you can't

even acknowledge that your own article you posted contradicts your preferred skewering of Bloomberg. I don't care about Bloomberg, but you seem to think just because Warren said something in a debate that all reason should be discarded. Look, it appears Warren picked that particular case from the 90s because she had her own pregnancy story to tell. Look, I like Warren, so this isn't about Warren, anyway.

It sounds like whatever happened, she didn't show up for work from middle April and the whole month of May, then she sent a written demand for more pay for June. That's the way the article reads. You don't know what is in the NDA, either, so, look, you don't get to fill in the blanks with your own versions of events. '

Again...……...when do we get to read paragraphs from Trump's lawsuits???

What an absolutely ridiculous assertion to fabricate what I would do about "this guy was still a Republican". What does that even mean, except you are now into personal insults.

Now you are really off the deep end -- bringing up Kavanagh and Ford???? LOL, you have really jumped the shark here, sorry.

[Luciferous]

22. Yeah even if she was (understandably) upset, you can't just quit showing up to work and expect

to still get paid or have a job. This wasn't just a few days, she didn't come back at all and then 2 months later applies for maternity leave? It sounds like she was fired for not coming back not because she was pregnant.

[Jarqui]

2. Co-Worker Corroborates Allegation That Bloomberg Told Pregnant Employee to 'Kill It'

https://lawandcrime.com/high-profile/former-co-worker-corroborates-allegation-that-bloomberg-told-pregnant-employee-to-kill-it/

David Zielenziger, a former Bloomberg technology writer said in an interview with the Post. “And Mike came out and I remember he said, ‘Are you going to kill it?’ And that stopped everything. And I couldn’t believe it.”
...
Zielenziger, who had never previously spoken publicly about the matter and was not deposed as part of Garrison’s lawsuit, told the news outlet that Bloomberg’s behavior toward Garrison was “outrageous,” but not unusual.

“He talked kind of crudely about women all the time,” Zielenziger said of Bloomberg.
...
A Bloomberg spokesperson told the Post that the candidate would not release anyone from a confidentiality agreement and that he would not release his sealed depositions from any of the cases.

I'd have to hold my nose and gag to support Bloomberg over Trump - which I would do.
But he's at the bottom of my list of preferences.

[BilltheCat]

7. er, just asking but what do we know about DAvid Zielenziger's politics because

there was another witness that tells another story.

[denem]

9. Lives in Great Neck

https://theislandnow.com/great_neck/great-neck-resident-speaks-on-bloombergs-alleged-sexist-comments/

Is not trying a hatchet job. Despite the conversation he overheard and others alleged in the complaint, he said he did not hear Bloomberg speak negatively of other employees for their race, religion or ethnicity.

[Jarqui]

12. She won a settlement in the case

So her claims were not without merit.

She wasn't alone in encountering this sort of thing:
https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/10713950-181/bloomberg-for-years-has-battled

While allegations about Bloomberg’s comments and treatment of women have received notice over the years, a review by the Post of thousands of pages of court documents, depositions obtained under the Freedom of Information Act and interviews with witnesses underscores how Bloomberg and his company, Bloomberg LP, have fought the claims.

A number of the cases have either been settled, dismissed in Bloomberg’s favor or closed because of a failure of the plaintiff to meet filing deadlines. The cases do not involve accusations of inappropriate sexual conduct; the allegations have centered around what Bloomberg has said and about the workplace culture he fostered.

I do not know of Zielenziger's politics or how much it has to do with this or if it has anything to do with it at all.

[Glimmer of Hope]

10. I can't imagine why she would have wanted to return

to subject herself to that kind of abuse.