Thanks to advances in technology and medicine, pregnant women are now able to work far longer into their pregnancy than they once were. However, that is often predicated on their employer helping to provide them the reasonable accommodations they need to perform their jobs, when many employers would rather not take on that amount of effort and expense. Here are five things you need to know about pregnancy discrimination:
- Pregnancy discrimination can happen before and after birth.
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- While the name can be a bit misleading, pregnancy discrimination extends after you have already given birth. This is because laws around this type of discrimination not only protect your rights to reasonable accommodations while dealing with your pregnancy, they also extend those protections to when you are recovering from the effects of giving birth. They also protect your right to have a private space to pump breast milk or breast feed, as appropriate.
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- As a pregnant worker, you have a right to reasonable accommodations.
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- Under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, or PWFA, you have a right to reasonable accommodation to deal with the effects of your pregnancy. This means your employer must provide you with whatever tools or adjustments are needed to help you accomplish your job, so long as they are not excessive. This may include making adjustments to your job responsibilities, providing you with assistive devices, or allowing you more breaks to rest or deal with your medical issues.
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- You are entitled to a certain amount of leave for pregnancy.
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- The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) grants you a certain amount of unpaid time to take off to deal with family and medical related issues, such as pregnancy. This is true even if your job otherwise does not grant you time off, such as sick leave or vacation time. Your employer may be held legally responsible if they fail to grant you that time off.
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- Pregnancy discrimination is not always immediately obvious.
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- While pregnancy discrimination can sometimes be obvious, as you are prevented from getting reasonable accommodations or face harassment for your pregnancy, it is not always that simple. For example, one of the most common forms of discrimination against pregnant people involves simply putting them on leave early, when they are still able to work. It may also include terminating someone while they are on maternity leave in potential violation of the law.
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- You may have legal options if you are a victim of pregnancy discrimination.
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- With the passage of the PWFA and other similar legislation, you may have legal options if you are discriminated against as a pregnant worker. However, to know what options are available to you, you should speak to a lawyer with experience handling employment law matters. They can help you review your case and ensure you get justice for the harm you suffered.
Steven Mitchell Sack, the Employee’s Lawyer, is a New York employment lawyer with more than 44 years’ experience handling the many aspects of employment law. His new book, “Fired!: Protect Your Rights & FIGHT BACK If You’re Terminated, Laid Off, Downsized, Restructured, Forced to Resign or Quit,” is available in hardback, and contains valuable advice on dealing with employment and labor law issues. To purchase the book, feel free to contact Steven Sack at 917-371-8000 or visit the website at legalstratpub.com. To inquire about a legal matter, please feel free to contact attorney Steven Sack at 917-371-8000 or stevensackatty@hotmail.com.
