A former Avon executive is suing the legendary cosmetics company for alleged discrimination, claiming she was fired for becoming pregnant. The executive said in a court filing Wednesday that her superiors only raised performance concerns with her after learning of the pregnancy, and fired her less than one week after that. Caroline Ruiz also claims that executives denied her request to work remotely—a suggestion from her doctor—and forced her to travel into the company’s offices only to fire her. Her filing accuses the makeup brand of hypocrisy, saying it “cannot claim to empower women at the same time that it undermines pregnant female employees.” Avon denied Ruiz’s claims of discrimination in a statement, adding that it is company policy not to comment on pending litigation.
—Emily Shugerman
