Union Home Mortgage denies discrimination claim from pregnant employee

Union Home Mortgage is denying wrongdoing in firing a pregnant employee last year, claiming its decision makers were unaware of her pregnancy. 

Missouri resident Elizabeth Martin filed a complaint for sex discrimination against the company after receiving a right to sue from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission earlier this year. The former loan officer assistant's claim stems from her termination last summer on the eve of her delivery date, at the same time her supervisor departed to another firm. 

The lender elevated the lawsuit to a Missouri federal court and responded to Martin's complaint August 17, acknowledging her firing but suggesting no unlawful actions. 

"UHM had legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons for its actions regarding Plaintiff," wrote counsel for the company. The firm said no loan officer assistants under the supervisor's purview remained employed following his exit.

Neither party's attorney nor the company responded to requests for comment. 

Martin joined the company in March 2021 and claims at the time of her termination she was less than one month away from her scheduled exam to become a licensed loan officer. UHM refuted the exam claim. 

Early last year Martin informed her supervisor she was pregnant, and also informed an area sales manager, Josh Carr, and the lender's human resources department. At the time, she told HR of her anticipated maternity leave beginning Aug. 10, 2022, and in July completed HR forms about the leave. Meanwhile, her supervisor Robert Hastings was mulling a departure, and Carr told the plaintiff she could secure a position in another office.

Hastings on Aug. 8 told Martin he was leaving to Missouri-based UMB Bank along with another loan officer assistant. Two days later, Martin received a doctor's note suggesting bed rest ahead of her scheduled induction and she shared the doctor's instructions with Carr and HR Aug. 11. 

That same morning, Martin said she received a call from an HR representative and another loan officer, who told her there "are no open positions within the company," according to the complaint. 

"Plaintiff was stunned to learn that she was being terminated and told them that it was difficult to process their decision," the lawsuit said. 

The HR representative and the loan officer allegedly apologized and said her health benefits would expire at the end of the month. They also asked Martin if her former boss Hastings was taking anyone with him to UMB Bank, and Martin confirmed another worker was leaving.

The lender in its Thursday response said Martin was terminated because Hastings left the company, and admitted that Martin was "displeased" about the move. The fired employee claims a male loan officer assistant was retained by the lender despite the departure of Hastings, a claim UHM also refuted.

The lender isn't the only mortgage firm accused of firing employees on parental leave; digital lender Better.com is also facing a similar complaint. A mediation update in that case involving dozens of former Better staff is due at the end of August, according to court records. 

In a separate lawsuit, Caliber Home Loans said it reached a settlement in a poaching case against UHM, although the companies have yet to file a formal dismissal in a Texas federal court.