In today’s NJ workplace, illegal pregnancy discrimination is all too common against female executives, middle, and lowered tiered employees across all industries. Unlike other types of discrimination such as race and ethnicity, it is rarely directly or overtly hostile but is frequently annoyingly insensitive at best and results in the worker being severed from her job at worst. The majority of employers are aware that pregnancy discrimination is illegal and take measures to mask their discriminatory actions fearing legal action by the employee.
If you are an employee at any level whose employer is not providing reasonable accommodations for your pregnancy or related medical condition, and the terms and conditions of your employment have changed, or your contract was not renewed, you should contact this office today for a free consultation. I am experienced and successful in recovering moneys as a result of pregnancy discrimination for lost wages, both past lost wages and projected future lost wages, and for recovering financial compensation for their emotional pain and suffering.
PREGNANCY BIAS IS A TRIPLE ILLEGAL BIAS THAT MAY LEAVE YOU UNEMPLOYED AND ELIGIBLE FOR BACK PAY, FRONT PAY AND DAMAGES.
A pregnant worker who experiences a negative change in her employer’s attitude after disclosing her pregnancy to the employer or requesting an accommodation, is experiencing three types of illegal discrimination - sex, disability and pregnancy discrimination - rolled into one bias. If your employer failed to renew your annual contract or terminated you after you disclosed to your employer that you are pregnant, or if upon returning from a pregnancy leave, your employer did not hold your job open for you, you may be eligible for back pay, front pay and damages.
Numerous State and Federal Laws Protect Against Pregnancy Discrimination at Work.
The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD) was amended by the Pregnant Women’s Fairness Act to specifically include “pregnancy” as a designated protected class in employment. This legal status is to prevent discrimination against women affected by pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions prior to, and after childbirth.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act gives legal protections to pregnant workers. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit sex discrimination on the basis of pregnancy.
Recently President Biden signed a federal law, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act which went into effect on June 27, 2023. New Jersey already required employers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, but not all state had similar legal protections. You may read more about the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act here. You may read the text of bill here.
Common Examples of Harassment Retaliation After Requesting Pregnancy Accommodations
Some corporate or public employer decision-makers cannot imagine they themselves ever needing any accommodation and feel providing it to be an inconvenience. In this contemporary and frequently sexist culture, they may resist making any adjustment to accommodate a woman’s pregnancy and disregard it as their legal duty. Some of the most common examples are:
Your employer is slow to respond to your requests for medical leave and intermittent time off to which you are entitled under the FMLA and New Jersey Earned Sick Leave laws, being deliberately obtuse to dissuade you from further asserting your civil rights.
Your employer starts removing job duties you can do, assigning tasks for which you were responsible for years, to other employees even though you have never indicated that you cannot do them.
After you requested an accommodation for your pregnancy, such as being able to sit down for portions of your shift or a limit on the number of pounds you must lift, your employer refuses.
Your employer assigns you to lower status job duties.
*Your employer changes your work schedule and/or cuts your hours under a bogus “business reorganization”.
A sudden drop in your performance evaluations after you received good evaluations or being placed on a Performance Improvement Plan.
No longer having online access to your prior good performance evaluations.
*A bogus “business reorganization” is often used as an excuse to fire or not renew the contract of private or public employees, such as teachers. Employers will attempt to force out workers through nefarious methods, excuses which on their face appear neutral, but upon further investigation are revealed to be a pretext to mask discrimination. I have represented private and public employees as to pregnancy discrimination and age discrimination whose employment positions were eliminated through spurious business and municipal reorganizations and was successful in recovering moneys for them.
If You Quit Your Job, You May Lose Right to Prevail in a Lawsuit
If you are thinking of quitting, or think you will be fired, you should contact this office immediately for a free consultation to discuss your options in the safest way for you. In many instances of discrimination, if you quit your job, you may lose right to prevail in a lawsuit unless you first take certain legally required measures to preserve your job while you are still employed.
Let Me Fight for You
I am successful in bringing employee lawsuits against governmental entities and private employers and recovering money for victims of employment discrimination. If you have been fired, not had your contract renewed, think you are being pushed out of your job or retaliated against, you should contact this office immediately for a free consultation.
Hope A. Lang, Attorney at Law represents workers throughout the entire state, including Hackensack, Jersey City, Newark, Irvington, Orange, East Orange, Trenton, Paterson, Montclair, Elizabeth, North Brunswick, Cherry Hill, Vineland, Union, Plainfield, Hamilton Township, Lakewood, Edison, Parsippany-Troy Hills, Franklin, Lakewood, and in every NJ County, including Bergen, Hudson, Middlesex, Essex, Monmouth, Somerset, Ocean, Union, Camden, Passaic, Morris, Gloucester, Atlantic, Burlington, Camden Counties.