Photography museum Fotografiska is slated to settle a lawsuit accusing managers of discriminating against a pregnant worker — including by scolding her for sitting during her shift and bringing up her decision not to get an abortion.
Supervisors at the Swedish museum’s outpost in Gramercy Park — which is set to close its doors in late September — allegedly violated New York City human rights law and state labor law with their shocking treatment of the Sheepshead Bay woman, the lawsuit alleges.
The ex-employee, who was hired in April 2022 to provide customer service, ticket sales and tours at the Park Avenue museum, notified her managers about her pregnancy status and intentions to get an abortion about a month into her new role, according to the Manhattan Supreme Court suit from March.
However, the next month, she told her managers she decided to continue with the pregnancy.
The difficulties began when, after a break during a shift in May 2022, the woman was approached by a manager who “aggressively reprimanded” her for sitting during work hours, despite the worker already having asked for permission to sit, the lawsuit reads.
The manager also said the worker was “asking too much” and taking advantage of her managers’ kindness by asking to be sitting as other employees would follow her lead, the lawsuit contends.
The worker had initially asked to sit that day due to feeling unwell from her pregnancy, the lawsuit added.
The same manager then proceeded to make “derogatory comments” about the worker and tell her “everyone is talking about you because of what you are doing,” the lawsuit reads.
“Just because you had an abortion, it doesn’t mean you can ask for special treatment,” the manager said, according to court papers. “The recovery from an abortion doesn’t take this long, and it’s been a week, and you are still demanding special treatment.”
The following day, the worker emailed another manager to schedule a meeting about her treatment, though a meeting scheduled for the same day “did not occur.”
“The aforementioned situation caused [the worker] to be deeply distressed, leading [the worker] to undergo a mental breakdown in the bathroom” of Fotografiska, the lawsuit continues.
The employee resigned within the week, according to court records.
A June 12 letter to the judge overseeing the case announced the parties reached a settlement for an undisclosed amount of money and paperwork to “fully consummate the settlement” is in progress.
Fotografiska’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post. The former staffer’s attorney declined to comment, citing a confidentiality agreement.
News of the settlement comes less than three months before the museum is expected to shut its doors on Sept. 29.
Museum officials previously cited space constraints as the principal reason for the closure.
The museum’s Veronika Restaurant — named the most beautiful restaurant in the boroughs earlier this year — and adjacent Chapel Bar will be closing as well.
The 130-year-old building isn’t a stranger to drama: notorious fraudster Anna Delvey once tried to ink a lease for the “Anna Delvey Foundation” at the property, with the hopes of installing a nightclub, a hotel, a German bakery and a juice bar across the 45,000-square-foot space.
