Oregon labor investigators have found evidence that a faith-based nonprofit broke discrimination laws by firing a pregnant employee.
Micaela Herrera worked in a warehouse operated by Teen Challenge International, a Christian nonprofit focused on keeping young people from using drugs.
According to Herrera’s complaint to Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI), she started working for Teen Challenge in October 2015. That winter, she told supervisors she was pregnant. Two months later she was fired by a higher-level supervisor, according to her complaint.
"In March 2016 the warehouse manager told the district manager that I am pregnant. On March 26, 2016 I told the district manager that I do not plan to marry the father of the child," Herrera's complaint reads. "He immediately terminated my employment because of my pregnancy and the fact that I do not plan to marry the father of the child."
State and federal laws prohibit employers from treating pregnant women differently than other employees. Herrera filed a complaint with BOLI on June 23, 2016, which alleges discrimination on the basis of gender, marital status and her pregnancy.
After a yearlong state investigation, BOLI found “substantial evidence” to support Herrera's complaint.
"The Civil Rights Division has found substantial evidence of unlawful discrimination in the Teen Challenge investigation," said BOLI communications director Charlie Burr in an email to OPB. "The case will now move over to our Administrative Prosecution Unit which will decide whether to issue formal charges."
A message to Teen Challenge wasn’t returned. Herrera declined comment through her attorney, Loren Collins.