EMS Southwest is accused of firing a Greene County woman because she was pregnant.

Bayley Colvin, of Rice’s Landing, said in the federal lawsuit she began her job with the emergency medical service in Waynesburg in September 2019. A little less than two months later, she informed one of the EMS directors she was pregnant.

According to the lawsuit, the director told her “there was no problem,” and she could continue her work throughout her pregnancy and noted she’d be restricted from heavy lifting. She was also granted all requested days off for her prenatal appointments, she said.

Colvin alleged that at one point, she needed to unexpectedly reschedule an appointment. The assistant director of dispatch told Colvin “it’s not our fault that you’re pregnant,” according to the lawsuit, and noted that no more accommodations would be made.

Representatives of EMS Southwest could not immediately be reached for comment.

The lawsuit further contends Colvin began experiencing severe morning sickness and on more than one occasion had to pull over on her way to work to vomit. She said this made her a few minutes later several times, and the assistant director told her the tardiness was “unacceptable,” the lawsuit said.

Colvin said she was told that other pregnant employees were never late because of morning sickness, according to the lawsuit. She said was written up rather than given the option to stay late to make up the missed time.

In December, Colvin said she took two days off for a tooth extraction, time off that was approved, according to the lawsuit. Two days after she returned, however, she was told that because of budget cuts, her position was being eliminated.

According to the lawsuit, Colvin was told that “certain circumstances” were looked at in deciding which employee to terminate, plus she’d been the most recent hire. The lawsuit contends Colvin was hired at the same time two others were hired and another employee was still going through the certification process.

The lawsuit alleges violations of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and is asking for a jury trial and an unspecified amount in damages.

About EMS Southwest

EMS Southwest, Inc. was established in 1994 as a private, paid ambulance service for Greene County, Pennsylvania.

They provide 24 hour emergency and non-emergency ambulance transportation to the patients of Greene and Fayette counties. Their pre-hospital registered nurses, paramedics, and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) treat ill and injured patients with professionalism, proficiency, and courtesy. EMS Southwest, Inc. has been recognized their program of detection and treatment of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), more commonly known as heart attack. They work in close partnership with Southwest Regional Medical Center for medical direction and command.

Southfield medics are on leave and the Southfield fire chief is pledging to find answers after a 20-year-old woman was declared dead on Sunday, but then was found alive hours later at a Detroit funeral home.

At a Wednesday morning press conference at Southfield City Hall, Chief Johnny Menifee addressed Timesha Beauchamp and her family: “We know that they want answers. We’re trying to provide those answers, but it takes time; it’s going to take time for this investigation.” The family has retained lawyer Geoffrey Feiger.

There is public interest in the case and that’s important, too, he said, but getting answers for the family trumps that concern. He said the four medics involved in the call were put on leave Monday morning.

“They feel terrible,” Menifee said. “They can’t imagine how this possibly could happen. They’re emotionally upset.”

On Tuesday, attorney Geoffrey Fieger, who is representing Beauchamp, 20, and her family said his firm will investigate any negligence on the part of authorities dispatched to her home.

“She needed to be taken to a hospital, not a funeral home,” the Southfield-based attorney said. The Southfield Fire Department responded to a 911 call at about 7:35 a.m. Sunday for an unresponsive woman, authorities said.

The woman suffered what was “apparently a seizure” during her normal morning routine, Fieger said. She was not breathing and her lips had lost color, he said.

Beauchamp has had cerebral palsy from birth and is on three breathing treatments a day, Fieger said.

Medics tried “life-saving efforts” on the woman for about half an hour, Southfield Fire Chief Johnny Menifee said. He declined Wednesday to detail what those were. But the woman showed “no signs of life.”

Fieger said a godmother of the woman, who works in the medical field, was at the house at the time and told authorities that Beauchamp was not dead. But they allegedly argued that the movements were involuntary, a reaction to the life-saving efforts just applied, the attorney added.

After the fire department consulted with an emergency room doctor at Providence Hospital, who declared the woman dead, the Oakland County Medical Examiner’s Office signed off on releasing the woman’s body to the family.

The woman was placed in a body bag at about 9 a.m., Fieger said. The James H. Cole Home for Funerals in Detroit on Schaefer took custody of the woman’s body just before 11:30 a.m.

On Wednesday, Menifee said that Fieger made a “grossly inaccurate” statement in saying Beauchamp was placed in a body bag by police or firefighters.

“That is absolutely untrue,” Menifee said. “It is not part of our standard operating procedures, nor do we carry that equipment.”

Funeral home workers preparing to embalm Beauchamp realized the woman was not dead. The workers were preparing to embalm Beauchamp.

“She was alive, her eyes were open, and she was breathing,” Fieger said.

The funeral home workers called 911, and Detroit Fire Department medics arrived. The woman was breathing. Her heart was beating at a rate of 80 beats per minute.

Beauchamp remains hospitalized in critical condition, said Brian Taylor, a spokesman for the Detroit Medical Center.

Menifee said he has not reached out to the family, and that he felt bad about it. He said he believes what the family wants from him is answers, not just conversation.

“I take full responsibility for not reaching out to them,” Menifee said. “I feel tremendously upset and mad at myself for not doing that upfront, but I know they want answers and I’m trying to get those answers for them.”

Southfield Medics

The four staffers involved are a lieutenant-paramedic with 18 years of experience, a paramedic with seven years’ experience, and two EMTs, with two years and six months of experience respectively per Southfield Fire staff.