Former Konami Employee Wins Maternity Leave Discrimination Suit

Yoko Sekiguchi, a former employee of Konami, has won her discrimination lawsuit against the publisher.

Sekiguchi took maternity leave in late 2008 and returned spring 2009, well within Japan’s maternity leave laws that require companies to give 14 weeks at partial pay or up to one year unpaid leave.

Upon her return to work she found she had been demoted from her previous position securing licenses for the Pro Evolution Soccer series, complete with a pay cut of over $2,000 per month. Her bosses said it had something to do with the “burden” of raising a child.

Although Sekiguchi was only awarded about $12,000 of the more than $400,000 she originally sought, the ruling going her way is still a great sign.

“I want the company to be a place where people don’t have to choose between two alternatives: career or kids,” Sekiguchi said.

Konomi has yet to release a statement.

I’m curious about the difference in money, but legal matters are hard enough to follow in English, let alone a language I only have a passing knowledge of. Anyway, good to see Konami get punished for demoting her. I can understand if they wanted to transfer her or something if she had come back and couldn’t preform certain job duties as well as before, but she was demoted preemptively.

And Japan wonders why its population is in decline.

Via The Escapist