Me! A disgraced celebrity! Starting by seeking justice for impoverished students.

The recess ended quickly.

Everyone returned to the courtroom.

"Please all stand up!"

The clerk's voice rang out, and the arbitration tribunal fell silent instantly.

Everyone stood up in unison.

The three arbitrators entered one by one through the side door, their expressions solemn.

Chief arbitrator Zhang Xiuqin walked to the center of the judge's bench, holding the neatly bound award in her hand.

All eyes were focused on the verdict, and the air seemed to freeze.

Zhou Min's palms were slightly sweaty, and she subconsciously clenched the hem of her clothes.

Zhang Lanlan raised her chin, feigning composure.

Even Zheng Kun, standing beside him, had a hint of nervousness in his eyes.

The chief arbitrator picked up the gavel and struck it down heavily.

"Thump!"

"The Xucheng District Labor and Personnel Dispute Arbitration Committee, after deliberation by the collegial panel, has made the following ruling in accordance with the law regarding the labor contract dispute between Zhou Min and Xucheng Hengtong Trading Co., Ltd."

Zhang Xiuqin's voice was steady and powerful, clearly carrying throughout the courtroom.

"First, the decision made by the respondent, Xucheng Hengtong Trading Co., Ltd., to adjust the position and salary of the applicant, Zhou Min, is confirmed to be illegal and is hereby revoked."

"Second, the court hereby rules that the employment relationship between the applicant Zhou Min and the respondent Xucheng Hengtong Trading Co., Ltd."

"Third, the respondent shall, within fifteen days from the date this ruling takes effect, pay the applicant Zhou Min a wage difference of RMB 2400, a full attendance bonus of RMB 300, and a deduction of RMB 520 for leave for prenatal check-up, totaling RMB 3220."

Hearing this, Zhang Lanlan breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately... the loss wasn't too great.

"Fourth, the respondent shall pay the applicant, Zhou Min, RMB 24000 as economic compensation for the termination of the labor contract within fifteen days from the date this ruling becomes effective."

After hearing the fourth point, Zhang Lanlan frowned slightly.

But there wasn't much of a reaction.

It's only 24,000 yuan, which is a small amount of money for her.

If this small amount of money can solve her problem, then it's fine to spend it.

"5. The respondent shall, within fifteen days from the date this ruling takes effect, pay the applicant Zhou Min a total of RMB 158400 for the loss of her remaining wages during pregnancy, maternity leave wages, and breastfeeding period wages."

"The total amount for all the above items is RMB 185,620!"

In an instant, Zhang Lanlan's pupils narrowed.

Zheng Kun's expression also changed.

The total compensation is 180,000?

Although this amount of money still doesn't mean much to her.

But isn't this punishment too harsh compared to the original one?

"VI. The applicant's other arbitration claims are dismissed!"

Zhang Xiuqin continued.

"If a party is dissatisfied with this ruling, they may file a lawsuit with the People's Court within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the ruling."

"If one party fails to comply with an effective judgment within the prescribed time limit, the other party may apply to the People's Court for enforcement in accordance with the law!"

After the verdict was read, the entire room was silent for two seconds before erupting into a cacophony of discussion.

The live stream chat was instantly flooded with comments!

[Holy crap! Three months' salary! He really got sentenced to three months' salary!]

[Over 180,000? Holy crap! Did I hear that right? I thought I'd only lose a few tens of thousands at most, this is three times that!]

[That's so satisfying! This is exactly the kind of severe sentence they deserve! Let's see which company dares to force a pregnant employee to resign in the future!]

[Originally, forcing talent away cost tens of thousands of yuan, but now we've lost 180,000 yuan. A classic case of trying to steal a chicken and losing the rice instead!]

[Attorney Jiang is a legend! He managed to secure three installments of compensation!]

This is true protection for pregnant female employees! Companies that break the law should pay a heavy price!

[The defendant's face must have turned green, right? He was so arrogant just now, now he's dumbfounded, isn't he?]

Zhou Min was completely stunned in the applicant's seat.

Her eyes were wide open, as if she hadn't heard clearly, staring blankly at the judge's bench.

Her original expectation was to get back the withheld wages and three months' worth of severance pay, totaling tens of thousands of yuan, which would be considered a win.

But now... they're terminating the employment contract and actually compensating me for all the lost wages during pregnancy, maternity leave, and breastfeeding period?

More than 180,000?

She turned sharply to look at Jiang Chen, her lips trembling, tears welling up unexpectedly and blurring her vision.

"Attorney Jiang... I... I didn't hear wrong, did I? Really... really such a large sentence?"

Jiang Chen nodded slightly, a faint smile on his lips, and reassured her in a low voice, "You heard me right, we won."

"The benefits during the three periods of pregnancy and childbirth are your legal rights. The company illegally forced you to resign, causing you to lose these benefits, so of course they should compensate you."

Zhou Min covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face through her fingers, her shoulders trembling slightly.

All the grievances, torment, and fear of the past few months turned into scalding tears at this moment.

It's not sympathy, it's not charity.

This is the law that gave her justice and fairness.

On the other side, in the respondent's seat.

"What?!"

Zhang Lanlan slammed her hand on the table and stood up abruptly, her voice shrill and distorted.

"180,000?! On what grounds are you sentencing him to such a high amount?!"

"It's just a job transfer, right? She wanted to leave, why should I have to pay her three months' salary?!"

She was so angry that her chest heaved violently, and her carefully styled curly hair became a bit messy.

Money meant nothing to her; 180,000 was just a drop in the ocean for the Pei family.

It's all about saving face!

Zhang Lanlan's company was actually sued and won by a junior employee, and the company was ordered to pay such a large sum of money.

If word gets out, how will she be able to hold her head high in Xu Cheng's circle of wives?

What will others say about the Pei family?

They couldn't even handle a pregnant employee, and ended up losing nearly 200,000 yuan!

This hurts even more than being slapped in the face!

"Mr. Zhang, please calm down!"

Zheng Kun quickly reached out to pull her, but his expression was even worse than Zhang Lanlan's.

He had no idea this would be the outcome.

Having worked in legal affairs for so many years, he has seen countless labor disputes.

In cases of job reassignment during pregnancy, the most that are awarded is back pay and additional severance pay, at most a few tens of thousands of yuan.

In judicial practice, very few cases of wage and benefit losses during the three periods of pregnancy are supported, let alone full support.

This ruling far exceeded his expectations.

What's even more critical is that once this precedent is set, it will be tantamount to telling the entire industry that forcing pregnant employees to resign will result in compensation of their full wages for three months.

How can Hengtong, and even the entire Pei Group's construction sites and subsidiaries, use this approach to save on labor costs in the future?

This isn't just about a few hundred thousand yuan; it's about ruining their money-saving methods that they've been using for years!

"Respondent, please observe court discipline!"

The chief arbitrator spoke in a deep voice, his gaze sweeping over Zhang Lanlan, "If you are dissatisfied with the ruling, you may file a lawsuit with the People's Court within the statutory time limit. This is your legal right."

"However, if someone causes a disturbance in the arbitration tribunal and disrupts the arbitration order, the tribunal has the right to issue a reprimand."

Zhang Lanlan took a deep breath, glared fiercely at the judge's bench, then gave Jiang Chen a venomous look, gritting her teeth and lowering her voice.

"Appeal! We must appeal! I refuse to believe the court would rule like this!"

"It's just a lawsuit, I'll fight her to the end! All the way to the intermediate court!"

"I doubt she, a mere employee, can afford to waste her time!"