ST. LOUIS — A pregnancy discrimination lawsuit has been filed in the Circuit Court of St. Louis County against MPAL Real Estate, LLC, operating as McKnight Place Assisted Living & Memory Care, on behalf of a former pregnant employee. The petition alleges that the facility unlawfully terminated the plaintiff, a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), on the basis of her sex (pregnancy) in direct violation of the Missouri Human Rights Act (MHRA).
According to the court filing, the plaintiff was hired by the St. Louis facility in May 2025 when she was three months pregnant. On June 25, 2025, she was asked by a co-worker to assist in transferring a resident weighing between 300 and 400 pounds. After safely completing the transfer, the CNA experienced pelvic cramping and reported it to management, who instructed her to obtain a doctor’s note for lifting restrictions.
The plaintiff immediately provided a medical note from her OB/GYN stating she should not lift anything over 25 pounds. Upon presenting the note to the facility’s Director of Nursing, the employee was told that the facility “does not allow or do accommodations or restrictions or light duty”.
The lawsuit details a shocking exchange where the Director of Nursing asked the pregnant worker how far along her pregnancy was and who hired her. According to the petition, the Director then explicitly stated, “If I knew you were pregnant, I never would have hired you”. Despite a charge nurse asking if the CNA could finish her shift because the facility was shorthanded, the Director of Nursing refused, ordered her to clock out and leave, and told her, “You can come back after the baby is born”.
The lawsuit alleges that McKnight Place terminated her employment that same day, despite the facility having a history of granting light-duty and lifting accommodations to non-pregnant employees.
The plaintiff is represented by Cyrus Dashtaki and Dashtaki Law Firm, LLC.
“It is completely unacceptable for a pregnant woman to be fired simply because she asked for a temporary lifting restriction,” said lead counsel, Cyrus Dashtaki. “To have a Director of Nursing look an expectant mother in the eye and explicitly say they never would have hired her had they known she was pregnant is an outrageous violation of Missouri law. We are seeking punitive damages to hold McKnight Place fully accountable for this discriminatory behavior and to ensure no other pregnant worker in Missouri faces this kind of treatment.”
Dashtaki Law Firm, LLC exclusively represents employees in employment matters involving discrimination based on age, race, sex, religion, national origin or disability, as well as retaliation. Please visit www.Dashtaki.com for more information.