Ex-assistant to Ingraham sues, alleging pregnancy discrimination
WASHINGTON: For nearly 16 months, Karolina Wilson worked as a personal assistant for Fox TV host Laura Ingraham (right). Wilson handled Ingraham’s scheduling, oversaw her travel arrangements, responded to emails and even worked with Ingraham’s household staff.
Her job, she said, kept her in constant contact with Ingraham via phone or email, sometimes seven days a week and sometimes late into the night or early morning.
“I think things were going very well. 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 loved that kind of work. That’s why I do it,” Wilson said in an interview.
Then in March 2017, Wilson, now 28, announced that she was pregnant with her first child. And that, according to a lawsuit filed in District of Columbia Superior Court, is when things began to become difficult, with the ultimate result that she lost her job.
Wilson is suing Ingraham and her company, Ingraham Media Group, alleging pregnancy discrimination under Washington’s Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and its Family and Medical Leave Act.
Ingraham, through her attorney, has denied the allegations.
Wilson alleges that the conservative talk show host became hostile toward her once she became pregnant and then fired her on her first day back from maternity leave. Ingraham allowed Wilson to remain with the company for about three weeks so that Wilson could eventually collect unemployment insurance. During that time, Wilson alleges, the company refused to set up a private space for her to pump breast milk at office in northwest Washington, and she had to go to her car in a nearby garage.
“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,” Wilson said.
Ingraham, a mother of three, declined to comment on the lawsuit. But Ingraham’s attorney, Betty Graumlich, said in an emailed statement that “Ms. Wilson’s claims are wholly without merit as our filed defences to the Complaint make abundantly clear. We look forward to litigating this case vigorously.” — WP-Bloomberg