Are you a pregnant worker who is being pressured into resigning? Employers are specifically required under Pregnant Workers Fairness Act to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant workers to allow them to keep working and not resign. Some employers are not complying and placing pressure on the workers in an attempt to get them to resign. This harassment happens particularly with non-tenured teachers, but this illegal discrimination occurs in all professions. Pregnancy discrimination claims continued to rise even after President Biden signed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, and a federal agency issued proposed guidelines for employers to be in compliance with the statute.
If your employer terminated you or started harassing you or pressured you into resigning upon learning of your pregnancy, or upon your asking for a reasonable accommodation to allow you to keep working, you should contact this law office today for a free consultation.
I have represented numerous private and public employees who were discriminated against because of their pregnancy, and I was successful in recovering financial compensation for their emotional pain and suffering, and moneys for lost wages, both for past lost wages and projected future lost wages.
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) was signed by President Biden on December 29, 2022, which federal law applies to all states and went into effect on June 27, 2023. You may read the text of bill here. The PWFA promotes maintaining the economic security for the worker and promotes the health of pregnant and postpartum workers by providing them with the reasonable accommodations needed for access to support on the job to enable them to keep working. Prior to the enactment of the PWFA, New Jersey already required employers to provide strict reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers. The Federal Bill was needed, however, because other states have weaker civil rights laws than New Jersey. Workers may be pressured into resigning or are outright fired if they ask for reasonable accommodations to allow them to keep working.
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is a Civil Rights Law as is the ADA and Title VII.
If your employer is refusing to provide reasonable accommodations to allow you to keep working, it is important for you to know that they are violating your Civil Rights. The PWFA strengthens existing protections against pregnancy discrimination under federal civil rights statutes, namely anti-discrimination and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the workers’ access to reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). As such, taking the totality of the circumstances into account, unless the accommodation will cause the employer an undue hardship, the PWFA requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to a worker’s known limitations related to childbirth, pregnancy, or related medical conditions.
Some examples of possible reasonable accommodations provided by the House Committee Report on the PWFA include:
Receive closer parking spaces where possible
Receive proper safety apparel
Receive additional break time to use the bathroom, eat
Being excused from activities that involve exposure to compounds not safe for pregnancy
Being excused from strenuous activities that are not safe for the pregnancy or mother
Have access to be able to sit or drink water
Being allowed leave or time off to recover from childbirth
Do All Workers Receive Protections for Pregnancy Accommodations under the PWFA?
The PWFA protects employees and applicants of “covered” employers; employees who have known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.
Under the PWFA, what is meant by “covered” employers?
PWFA “covered” employers include private and public sector employers with at least 15 employees, Federal agencies, Congress, employment agencies, and labor organizations.
In New Jersey, pregnancy is a protected class under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD) which APPLIES TO ALL EMPLOYERS REGARDLESS OF SIZE, UNLIKE THE PWFA.
If you are a New Jersey worker and discriminated against because of your pregnancy you can file directly and more quickly for pregnancy discrimination under the NJLAD in State Superior Court.
If you are a New Jersey Worker and discriminated against because of your pregnancy you can file directly and more quickly for pregnancy discrimination under the NJLAD in State Superior Court without having to go through the time consuming administrative process of filing under the federal statute. The NJLAD requires providing reasonable accommodations for pregnancy unless it creates an undue hardship on the employer. “Undue hardship” is fact sensitive in every case but undue hardship must pose a significant difficulty or expense for the employer, not just an inconvenience. Under the New Jersey law, NJLAD, it shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer to not make reasonable accommodations to the known limitations related to the pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions of the employee, unless such employer can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the operation of the business of such employer.
Statistics show that employment discrimination plaintiffs fare better in New Jersey State Court than Federal Court. If you work in NJ, there are other advantages to filing in State Court under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD), rather than pursuing your employment discrimination claims under Federal law. An employment discrimination Plaintiff can file a NJLAD lawsuit against his employer in State Court without first having to exhaust administrative requirements in a process that is required under the Federal Law, Title VII or the ADA. If a person wants to file a claim under Title VII or the ADA, he must first file an administrative claim with a federal agency. This is not required if the discrimination plaintiff files under the NJLAD in State Court; he can file his lawsuit directly and more expeditiously in NJ Superior Court.
If You Resign, You May Lose Right to Prevail in a Lawsuit
In many instances of discrimination and retaliation, if you resign, 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. If you are thinking of resigning, or think you will be fired, or have been fired, you should contact this office immediately for a free consultation to discuss your options in the safest way for you.
If you are being subjected to such unlawful workplace discrimination or believe you are being pushed out of your job, contact Hope A. Lang, Attorney at Law today for a free consultation. I accept discrimination and whistleblower cases from all over New Jersey and have locations in Southern, Central and Northern NJ to meet with clients.
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 every NJ County, including Bergen, Hudson, Middlesex, Essex, Monmouth, Somerset, Ocean, Union, Camden, Passaic, Morris, Gloucester, Atlantic, Burlington, Camden Counties.