Pregnant and Fired: A Rising Trend?

Hives erupted across her torso. Her hands swelled to fleshy catcher's mitts. Jennifer Walls, about four weeks pregnant and in a panic, rushed to the hospital emergency room.

The doctor said her pregnancy triggered the skin condition. He gave her steroids and ordered the then-34-year-old mother-to-be to stay home.

She returned to work within a couple of weeks. Four months after that trip to the hospital, Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Co. in Charlotte fired Walls. The reason: She allegedly lied about calling the help desk to report a computer problem while on a business trip.

A federal agency that oversees workplace discrimination found that Walls was wronged. In October, she joined the growing ranks of women filing pregnancy discrimination lawsuits. Her case recently moved to federal court.

Pregnancy-discrimination complaints rose 14 percent between 2000 and 2005, even as sexual harassment and racial-bias claims dropped. Preliminary numbers for 2006 remain on par with last year, an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission spokesman said. In the Carolinas, pregnancy-discrimination complaints have jumped 35 percent since 2000.