Reflection and Analysis - Case Study Example

According to the court records, Madalyn Garcia was fired by Elan Household, LLC, which was formed by wealthy tycoons and political campaign donors Baxter-Simons and Nathaniel Simons, to manage the household expenses, including those of the household employees (Markay, 2015). The parties are to enter into an agreement through arbitration, which will be later notified to the court.

Madalyn Garcia was recruited as a household worker to serve in the 6,700-square-foot home owned by the Simons family and located in Berkeley, in 2010, to serve as a housekeeper (Markay, 2015). Garcia was considered one of the best employees in the household, and thus she consequently received numerous bonuses frequently, as an appreciation for her work. However, all this was to change in the April of 2012, when Garcia informed the homeowner, Baxter-Simons, that she was pregnant, and thus requested a 12-week maternity leave (Markay, 2015). Upon this request, Baxter-Simons was visibly upset but still allowed Garcia to take only a 6-week leave. When Garcia reached 8 months of her pregnancy, she started experiencing tiredness and difficulties in undertaking her duties, thus requesting a rearrangement of her 2-off duty days, so she could have occasional rests (Markay, 2015). This upset Mrs. Baxter-Simons even more and she refused to grant that request, while starting to harass Garcia by asking her to do work that was difficult for her, such as carrying a crate of wine up and down the stairs. The relationship between Garcia and her employer would subsequently deteriorate, and on Aug. 6, 2012, Elan Household, LLC informed her that she had been fired (Markay, 2015).

The Court ruled that the case be settled through arbitration. The details of the arbitration ruling have not been made public yet.

The U.S. Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1964, under Title VII, provides that it is prohibited for an employer to treat a female employee “unfavourably because of pregnancy, childbirth or any other medical condition related to the regency or childbirth” (USA.Gov, 2015). Additionally, the law of California provides that a pregnant employee should be granted up to four months of maternity leave (Peyerwold, 2014).

Thus, Elan Household, LLC violated the provisions of both laws, by denying Garcia the maternity leave and subsequently firing her. This means that Elan Household, LLC is legally responsible for the payment of damages, and should suffer the associated punitive measures as provided under the laws.

Elan Household, LLC failed to provide a paid and protected leave as provided under Title VII of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1964. The Californian State laws further provide that employers with more than five employees should provide the employees with up to four months of paid leave (Peyerwold, 2014). All these legal provisions were completely violated by Elan Household, LLC.