A woman in the US is suing her former employer claiming she was sacked from her job because her period leaked on her chair.
Alisha Coleman is suing the Bobby Dodd Institute in Georgia for workplace discrimination after she claims she was dismissed after her period leaked on two occasions.
Ms Coleman received a disciplinary write-up after the first incident in 2015, and her supervisor told her "she would be fired if she ever soiled another chair from sudden onset menstrual flow," according to the lawsuit.
In a second incident in 2016, Ms Coleman leaked on the carpet on her way to the toilet. Days later she was dismissed for failing to "practise high standards of personal hygiene and maintain a clean, neat appearance while on duty," the lawsuit states.
"I loved my job at the 911 call centre because I got to help people," the mother-of-two said in a statement. "Every woman dreads getting period symptoms when they're not expecting them, but I never thought I could be fired for it. Getting fired for an accidental period leak was humiliating. I don’t want any woman to have to go through what I did, so I'm fighting back."
The American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing Ms Coleman, said she had been discriminated against on the grounds of sex including “pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions" and that her dismissal was a violation of the Civil Rights Act.
"Employers have no business policing women’s bodies or their menstrual cycles," said Andrea Young, ACLU of Georgia executive director. "Firing a woman for getting her period at work is offensive and an insult to every woman in the workplace. A heavy period is something nearly all women will experience, especially as they approach menopause, and Alisha was shamed, demeaned and fired for it. That’s wrong and illegal under federal law. We’re fighting back."
The Bobby Dodd Institute said: "Our mission is to help those with disabilities and disadvantages find work and keep work.
"While we cannot share specific details about this case because it’s become a legal matter, please know there is more to this story than is being portrayed by those who are suing us. We can say we followed proper protocol and went the extra mile to avoid dismissal in this case, as we would for any of our employees."
