Blaine pet store fired woman after learning she was pregnant

The owner of a Blaine pet store hired Hannah Grell on the spot. The general manager handed her a uniform and assigned her shifts. Before leaving, Grell mentioned she was pregnant.

An hour later, she was fired.

"This was blatant pregnancy discrimination," Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR) Commissioner Rebecca Lucero said in a statement.

On Wednesday, Minnesota's civil rights agency announced settlement terms for the discrimination case against Four Paws and a Tail. The pet retailer will be under state supervision for three years and pay Grell $22,000.

Grell received a voicemail from the owner an hour after her hiring in September 2022 saying she had been fired. The manager later called to say the company "decided to go another route."

MDHR investigators found that was not the case, and that she had been fired "because of her pregnancy," according to a news release.

Pet Ranch Inc., owner of Four Paws and a Tail, denies wrongdoing and liability as part of the settlement. The pet store will need to train employees and create and enforce anti-discrimination policies.

"Filing this case with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights was immensely important to me," Grell said in a statement. "It means that in the future, if another woman is put through this, they might not be scared to stand up for themselves and their rights."

It has been illegal to fire an employee due to pregnancy or deny reasonable accommodations in Minnesota for nearly 50 years. Employees do not have to tell their bosses if they are pregnant or plan to be, and employers cannot ask if workers are pregnant or plan to have children.

Nationally, one in five mothers and pregnant workers have experienced pregnancy discrimination, according to a Bipartisan Policy Center poll. About a quarter "have considered leaving their jobs due to a lack of reasonable accommodations or fear of discrimination during a pregnancy."