Add Comment Question: My girlfriend apprentices in a Machine Shop and was recently temporarily laid off after 7 months of fulltime employment due to what they claim was lack of work. However, I do not think that lack of work was true nature of the lay off. I believe she was laid off because she is pregnant. She had told her employer about the pregnancy because she was working in a black oxide room dealing with chemicals and did not want to possibly complicate the pregnancy. The very next day and following week her supervisor would scream at her for anything and everything he could and would only give her the odd job here and there while the 2 other apprentices (of equal experience and skill) were handed job after job. Within a month they had told her they were laying her off temporarily. Now, I believe its due to the pregnancy because soon after she was laid off they received of flood of jobs, so much so, they had to start an afternoon shift for 2 weeks from 3:00 pm to 1:00 am when they had only worked from 7:00 am to 3:30 pm prior. Not only that, but they also started up on Saturdays when they didn't work Saturdays before the massive influx of work. Its also believed that the company she worked for has a history of "temporarily" laying people off and not calling them back, she witnessed it firsthand when she had first started at that shop; her supervisor raved about how one of the other employees was finally gone after said employee was laid off in the same manner. (Its not for certain that they arent calling people back) Answer: Thank you for reaching out to our firm. This is a complex situation and there are several different issues that will need to be explored and for which we would require more information. Generally speaking, though, so long as she does not have a contract allowing them to temporarily lay her off, she may have the option of treating her employment as at an end. There are other issues, including the reason for the lay-off, for which she would also be well advised to seek legal advice. To that end, we would recommend that she contact the number below to schedule a consultation. Your Comment * Your Email * Your Name * Your City Note, your name, city and email is not displayed on the website. It is used to notify you that we have approved your comment.