Ex-Employee Sues DOE in South Dakota Over Maternity Leave

A former education program specialist with the South Dakota Department of Education is demanding a jury trial over her termination in 2022.

A lawsuit filed at the end of March alleges that former DOE employee Kathryn Dryden was discriminated against on the basis of her sex and pregnancy in 2022 when she was discharged by the state. Dryden is asking for compensatory relief, damages from loss of past and future income, benefits and emotional distress with interest as well as attorney fees in addition to a jury trial.

The Department of Education has not responded to a request for comment.

According to the filed lawsuit, when Dryden requested maternity leave in 2021, her supervisor allegedly suggested a hybrid maternity leave in which Dryden would work remotely following her 12 weeks of leave so that she could be at home with her newborn infant. At the time, Dryden was struggling to find child care in Pierre due to closures and providers not accepting infants due to COVID-19 outbreaks. Eventually, Dryden found child care but the center could not accept her infant until after her maternity leave ended.

Read the source article at keloland.com