According to his lawsuit, Jones graduated from Thayer in 2004 and later earned a bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College. She began working at Thayer in various capacities in 2008, most recently working full time as a health and wellness teacher and substitute instructor until she was fired in 2023, according to the lawsuit.

In September 2022, Jones told school Principal Chris M. Fortunato and other administrators that she was pregnant and planned to take parental leave when her child was born, according to the lawsuit. Jones indicated that “she hoped that this time her parental leave would go more smoothly than her last parental leave in 2021,” the lawsuit states.

During this leave, Thayer was “uncooperative, unhelpful, and at times hostile to Ms. Jones’ requests for leave, accommodations, and even information, and often gave her incorrect information in response to her questions,” alleges. the trial.

As a result, Jones “had no choice” but to take a one-year unpaid leave of absence during the 2021-2022 school year, according to the lawsuit.

After informing school officials of her intention to take parental leave again, she sent a follow-up email in February 2023 to Fortunato and other school officials in which she outlined her thoughts and wishes regarding his leave.

Fortunato and an assistant principal at the school met with Jones on March 3, 2023, and told him his contract would not be renewed.

“Mr. Fortunato explained that regarding the health and wellness portion of Ms. Jones’ job, ‘honestly, kids don’t have time in their day to play silly games,'” the statement said. complaint, adding that Jones, “somewhat perplexed by these statements, explained that she did not play ‘silly games’ with her students.”

She asked Fortunato if he knew one of the subjects she taught was nutrition, and he said he didn’t know, according to the lawsuit. He also said he did not know how many health and wellness sections she taught, according to the lawsuit.

Fortunato did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

At a follow-up meeting, Jones asked her if she could work as a full-time substitute teacher in an effort to save her job. But he told her he had no money for such a position, although one man was later offered a full-time substitute role at the college, according to the civil complaint.

In a subsequent meeting with Tally Lauter, the school’s human resources professional, Jones expressed dismay at being fired, according to the complaint.

“Mr. Lauter told Ms. Jones that she was not ‘special’ just because she was pregnant, and he asked her how long she thought she would be able to take the leave, an odd question given that the Ms. Jones’ parental leave plans were consistent with Thayer’s policy and Massachusetts law, and apparently had nothing to do with her termination,” the complaint states.

Lauter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“Due to plaintiff’s sex and pregnancy, Thayer unlawfully discriminated against her after she informed them of her pregnancy and requested pregnancy-related accommodations, including parental leave, by depriving her of, among other things, compensation, terminating her employment and failing to consider her for comparable positions,” the complaint states.

Jones’ suit seeks damages for lost wages and benefits, among other forms of relief. Thayer had not responded to the lawsuit in court as of Thursday afternoon,

This breaking news story will be updated when more information is released.

Travis Andersen can be contacted at [email protected].