Due to being fired by the company for being late for pregnancy, the Shangcheng District Procuratorate in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, has filed a civil lawsuit to help pregnant female workers protect their rights. In September 2024, shortly pregnant Xiaoting (pseudonym) was terminated from her labor contract by the company on the grounds of "serious violation of company rules and regulations". She went to the labor arbitration institution to request the restoration of the labor relationship between the two parties. Although the arbitration result determined that the company's actions constituted illegal termination of the labor contract, it did not support Xiaoting's request to continue fulfilling the labor contract. Xiaoting refused to accept the arbitration award and came to the Shangcheng District Prosecutor's Office in December of the same year to apply for support for the lawsuit, hoping to return to work. Prosecutor Guo Liping of the court retrieved the labor arbitration case file and also met with Xiaoting. After careful verification, the prosecutor confirmed that Xiaoting was indeed late multiple times in August, with the longest being 6 minutes and the shortest being only 1 minute. According to the attendance management system of the company, if a person is late, leaves early, or leaves work more than 10 times a year, the company has the right to terminate the labor contract only after communication and order for correction is unsuccessful. But the company's attendance records were not confirmed by Xiaoting, and there was no order to correct Xiaoting's tardiness. Obviously, the company's operations are neither compliant nor humane. ”The prosecutor said that according to the "Special Regulations on the Labor Protection of Female Employees" implemented in 2012, employers shall not reduce the wages, dismiss, terminate labor or employment contracts of female employees due to pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding. Being a few minutes late will not have a serious impact on the company's production and operation activities, so the company is illegally terminating the labor contract. "Subsequently, the investigation team met with the company representative, who said that the original position had already been filled, and Xiaoting returned to her original position with emotions. It is feared that the follow-up work will also be difficult to proceed smoothly. It would be best if I could go back. I can accept a job transfer, but the company is really unwilling, and I also hope to receive compensation as soon as possible. ”After multiple communications, Xiaoting said so. After Xiaoting filed a lawsuit, on May 20th of this year, the Shangcheng District Procuratorate made a decision to support the prosecution in accordance with the law. Before the trial, the prosecutor and the court jointly set up a mediation platform. After repeated communication, Xiaoting reached a mediation agreement with the company, and the company paid Xiaoting a one-time compensation. After reviewing recent cases involving female workers' labor rights in the jurisdiction of Shangcheng District Procuratorate, it was found that Xiaoting's experience is not an isolated case. Employers often use seemingly neutral reasons such as "serious violations of discipline," "revocation of position," and "failure to meet performance standards" to indirectly terminate the labor contract with female workers during pregnancy and childbirth. In response to this, the hospital has visited women's federations, human resources and social security agencies, courts and other units multiple times to jointly explore the protection of the rights and interests of pregnant female employees, and further guide enterprises to standardize employment, such as establishing flexible attendance systems for pregnant employees, improving internal appeal channels, and truly building a maternity friendly workplace environment. (New Society)