Laura Ingraham sued by former assistant, accused of pregnancy discrimination

Laura Ingraham's former personal assistant is suing the Fox News host and her company, Ingraham Media Group, alleging pregnancy discrimination.

Karolina Wilson was employed by Ingraham for less than sixteen months, and claims she was fired the day after she returned from maternity leave.

According to the suit, Ingraham became hostile toward the former assistant after Wilson announced to her employer that she was pregnant, alleging that "Ingraham was hyper critical of Plaintiff's job performance in ways she was not before she announced her pregnancy."

The plaintiff claims that prior to disclosing that she was pregnant, she enjoyed her job. Wilson said, "Laura is a very demanding person who is not easily satisfied, but I always satisfied her and she was always happy with my work. She never complained to me about anything. I was tired. It was a lot, but I love that kind of work."

Wilson further claims that Ingraham and her company initially only offered her one week of maternity leave, but later extended her time off to eight weeks with the agreement that Wilson would begin working from home a few weeks after giving birth.

The lawsuit also states that Ingraham Media Group allowed Wilson to stay on staff weeks after her firing in order for her to be eligible to later collect unemployment insurance. But Wilson adds that during that time, the company did not provide her adequate accommodation or a place to pump breast milk, saying,  "I had no lunch breaks. I pumped when I found a minute, here and there, making sure I wasn't interfering with anything that was on the schedule."

She added: "I was treated unfairly. I hope this never happens again. I think pregnancy and bringing a child into this world is a beautiful thing. It shouldn't be tarnished with hostility."

Through her attorney, Betty S.W. Graumlich, Ingraham denied the claims. Graumlich filed a motion to dismiss the suit, and said, "Ms. Wilson's claims are wholly without merit as our filed defenses to the Complaint make abundantly clear. We look forward to litigating this case vigorously."

Ingraham's lawyer argues that because Ingraham Media Group had fewer than twenty employees, the company did not violate the Family and Medical Leave Act as alleged by Wilson.