When an employer restricts or fires pregnant employees simply because that employee is pregnant, the employer may violate The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 (PDA) as well as other federal law. The PDA applies to workplaces with 15 or more employees, including at federal, state, and local government offices. The PDA covers employer decisions in hiring, scheduling, promotion, workplace conditions, and more. Dept. of Labor Regulation, 29 C.F.R. 1604.10 & Pt. 1604 Appendix. In March this year for instance, the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC ) settled a lawsuit against Comfort Inn & Suites in Michigan, after Comfort Inn fired a pregnant housekeeper because Comfort Inn management believed the job endangered the employee’s unborn child. That’s not management’s unilateral call. Comfort Inn now must pay the fired employee $2,500 in back pay and $25,000 in other damages under the EEOC settlement agreement. In February this year, a Mississippi bar paid $20,000 to settle an EEOC lawsuit over the bar’s sudden firing of a female employee whose pregnancy, the bar supervisor told her, was “taking its toll on you.” Simply put, an employer cannot fire pregnant employees without giving them the same workplace adjustments, opportunities for leave, and other benefits routinely extended to other employees for medical problems. Dept. of Labor Regulation, 29 C.F.R. 1604.10 & Pt. 1604 Appendix. Furthermore, an employer cannot create a special process to evaluate the medical needs of pregnant employee apart from the routine process. 29 C.F.R. Pt. 1604 Appendix. The Americans for Disabilities Act (ADA) and Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) protect pregnant employee rights to unpaid leave and workplace accommodation also, where these laws apply. The EEOC has made enforcing accommodation rights of pregnant employees under the PDA and ADA a strategic priority for the foreseeable future. EEOC Strategic Enforcement Plan (2012-2016). http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/plan/upload/sep.pdf. Pregnant employees have workplace rights. They cannot be discriminated against in hiring, working conditions, and promotion. If you are pregnant and believe you are being discriminated against, know your rights. Give us a call. We may be able to help.
