Okla. official questions hiring pregnant woman

[The Straight Story]

Okla. official questions hiring pregnant woman

OKLAHOMA CITY – A member of Oklahoma's Board of Education drew heated reaction Thursday after saying a newly hired administrator would be "worthless" as a legislative liaison if she took immediate maternity leave.

Shortly after the board voted to hire Jessica Russell, who is due to give birth in April, former state Sen. Herb Rozell noted that she was pregnant and questioned whether she would be around for key days of the upcoming legislative session.

Russell was hired to represent the state Department of Education's interests at the Capitol. The Oklahoma Legislature reconvenes Feb. 7 and must end its business by May 27.

"If she has that baby in April and takes off six weeks, she's worthless to us," Rozell said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110128/ap_on_re_us/us_pregnant_schools_official

[hobbit709]

1. That still makes her worth more than that clown.

Mark Twain's statement about school boards becomes truer every day.

[SoCalDem]

2. It must have been obvious to them that she was pregnant, if she's that close to her due date

Why was she hired in the first place? Did they think she would have the baby in the women's bathroom, call her nanny to come & pick it up and return to her desk to finish the day?

Maternity leave comes with babies...it's just a fact.

If a job depends on a butt being firmly planted in a chair for 8 hrs a day, 5 days a week, 50 weeks a year, then hiring a near-due-date pregnant woman may not have been their brightest maneuver. If they have no plans to adhere to maternity-leave policy, then they should have been more "cautious" in their hiring practices.

Of course hiring men-only, does not preclude the possibility of those men having medical issues that might take them away from their jobs.