Ex-Bloomberg reporter claims discrimination

A former Washington correspondent for Bloomberg is suing the company, claiming she faced discrimination after becoming pregnant and was unlawfully fired after taking maternity leave, reports Zoe Tillman of the National Law Journal.

Tillman writes, “The correspondent, Megan Hemmerlein (née Hughes), said she was increasingly pulled off stories after she notified the company in late 2013 about her pregnancy, according to her suit filed Wednesday in District of Columbia Superior Court. When Hemmerlein told a producer she was interested in reporting on medical marijuana, she claimed she was told it would look ‘weird’ to have a pregnant reporter handle the story. A male correspondent was assigned to the story.

“In another instance, a superior allegedly told Hemmerlein, who wanted to participate in election coverage, ‘Don’t bother with midterms. You are not going to want to leave your baby.’ Hemmerlein was due to deliver in August 2014.

“A spokeswoman for Bloomberg declined to comment. Hemmerlein’s lawyers, R. Scott Oswald and Kellee Kruse of The Employment Law Group in Washington, were not reached for comment on Thursday morning.”