Companies that engage in workplace discrimination have many targets, including pregnant women. Pregnant New York women who are a part of the workforce should learn about workplace discrimination tactics, which can sometimes be difficult to identify and prove.
Employers are required to take certain steps when employees inform them of their pregnancy. This includes providing reasonable accommodations that allow pregnant employees to continue to perform their tasks without having to place themselves or their babies at risk. The employees may be allowed to change their shift or modify their working hours to be able to attend medical appointments, or they may be given different work tasks.
However, there are certain types of behaviors that are illegal according to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. An employer is prohibited from engaging in any form of harassment against a worker because she is pregnant. If a woman has been fired, demoted or any in some other manner been punished for being pregnant and employed, she has been a victim of workplace discrimination.
When a pregnant worker is on maternity leave, she cannot be forced by her employer to wait a certain amount of time before returning to work. The employer is also prohibited from firing the worker while she is on leave. If the employer does not provide maternity leave, the employee may be able to go on leave according to the provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act. While the leave will be unpaid, the employee’s job will be protected for the leave’s duration. An employment law attorney may advise clients who have been victims of this type of workplace discrimination or retaliation of their legal options
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