After 6 weeks of employment, my nanny came to us and said she was pregnant and too tired/stressed to continue working for us. She said she'd be flexible about her leave date but said we should start looking for a nanny to replace her. It was a bit of a shock but the weeks prior she'd been acting a little odd and unhappy so it wasn't entirely surprising. So, I did all I could to find a nanny and managed to find one to start a month from now. I asked her if she could stay that long and she was very non-committal and vague. So, I then found an interim solution for the immediate term and told her, thinking she'd be relieved. After I told her she said she'd just come from the doctor and her baby was not viable. I told her this was heartbreaking and she said it was better that I had someone bc she was too upset to work for a while. We parted warmly on the phone. Ten minutes later I got a text from her claiming that she never quit and that now I'm giving her no notice which she says means I owe her 3 weeks severance pay. When I suggested we speak about it in person bc I was genuinely confused about why she had changed her position, she got angry and agressive and told me she'd be going to the department of employment. She is now claiming I fired her because she was pregnant, which is ludicrous! We asked her repeatedly to stay through her pregnancy and she said she wanted to go as soon as possible. Also, we never had any kind of contract, just informal emails about salary and time off - nothing about severance (which is not even applicable bc she quit!).

In any case, this is all very stressful and I feel very threatened. I'm looking to speak to a lawyer, but wondered if anyone else had gone through something similar and had any advice. I am at my wits end and feeling both betrayed and a little frightened.

In Nebraska there is a law that states either party may quit or fire someone without notice. If you did not have a written contract with a severance package, believe she would not be able to get anything especially since she asked to leave. I think it would be good though to talk with an attorney and make sure that's right, just incase it is not. Good luck!