Person X argues they only volunteered because Y is pregnant. ‘If I had stayed, I would’ve been the subject of retaliation because I’d look like a bad person.’

Person X argues they only volunteered because Y is pregnant. ‘If I had stayed, I would’ve been the subject of retaliation because I’d look like a bad person.’ In discovery, it’s found that person Z pinged a friend and said ‘yea, we totally couldn’t let C be laid off. What kind of person would fire a pregnant woman?!” That’s pretty strong proof that membership in a protected class factored directly into a retention/compensation decision. This is why managers are (/should be) trained to handle this with lawyers involved.