Florida teacher Jarretta Hamilton was fired for breaking the school's morality code by becoming pregnant while not married.
UPDATE 4/20/12: After losing in court in 2011, teacher gets hearing in appeals court
-- From "Teacher Fired for Becoming Pregnant Out of Wedlock" by Russell Goldman, ABC News 6/11/10
In April 2009, Hamilton told her boss at Southland Christian School in St. Cloud, Fla., that she was pregnant and planned to take a six-week leave in October. When asked when she conceived, Hamilton answered honestly: She became pregnant just three weeks prior to her Feb. 20 wedding.
That was enough to get her fired under the school's strict morality rules, which prohibit teachers from "fornication," engaging in sex before marriage.
Now, Hamilton is suing the school in federal court, seeking damages for lost wages and emotional distress.
According to the complaint, Hamilton is suing under federal gender discrimination laws, a state marriage discrimination law and for violations of her privacy.
The school does not dispute the reasons for firing Hamilton, calling sex outside of marriage "an immoral action," but argues that her termination does not rise to discrimination because it employs other pregnant women.
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