Yonkers Pregnancy Discrimination

Employment Attorneys Guiding Workers in the Yonkers Area

As of 2000, there were about 75,000 households in Yonkers. Of these, about 30% had minor children living there. A female householder without a husband present made up 17% of the households. Employers should not engage in pregnancy discrimination in New York or elsewhere. Unfortunately, some employers do so unlawfully. Pregnancy discrimination is forbidden under federal and state laws. It exists if you are pregnant or have a pregnancy-related condition, or intend to get pregnant or go into childbirth, and your employer responds by treating you adversely in its employment decisions. The skillful Yonkers pregnancy discrimination lawyers at Phillips & Associates may be able to represent you if you have faced employer discrimination because of your pregnancy.

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to prohibit pregnancy-related discrimination when an employer has at least 15 employees. Too many women find their jobs or careers threatened because they plan to become pregnant or are pregnant. Under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, it is illegal for an employer that is covered by the law to base its decisions on your pregnancy. It is illegal for your employer to terminate you, pay you differently, give you unfavorable job assignments, not provide mentorship that is available to other employees, not train you, or not give you the fringe benefits that other employees get.

Sometimes pregnant workers become disabled due to a pregnancy-related condition. They may develop gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, or pubic symphysis. They may require bed rest or alterations to their work schedule. Under federal law, employers with at least 15 employees are supposed to treat these disabled workers in the same way that they would treat employees with other sorts of temporary disabilities. A pregnancy discrimination attorney can help Yonkers employees enforce this right. For example, if you cannot walk due to pubic symphysis and need to work from home, while your employer allowed another worker with a broken leg to work from home, it should also allow you to work from home. For another example, if you develop gestational diabetes and need an altered break schedule to take your insulin, but another worker gets different breaks due to Type 1 diabetes, you should also get a different break schedule. You may sue under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act not only for an adverse employment decision based on pregnancy, but also if you are not treated in the same way that other temporarily disabled employees are with regard to reasonable accommodations.

One form of pregnancy discrimination is pregnancy harassment. If you face severe or pervasive harassment based on your pregnancy, you should confront the harasser, and you should also notify your employer through any grievance procedures specified in your employment handbook or by notifying HR in writing and verbally.

State Laws Against Pregnancy Discrimination

In many cases, the New York State Human Rights Law provides more expansive protections to pregnant employees. If your employer has a minimum of four employees, a Yonkers pregnancy discrimination attorney can help you bring this type of claim. Your employer is not allowed to require you to take leave due to your pregnancy, unless you are so incapacitated by pregnancy that you cannot reasonably perform your job duties.

Under state law, you can ask for a reasonable accommodation for a pregnancy-related condition. A pregnancy-related condition is one that restricts your normal bodily function or that can be revealed through a medically accepted technique. It should not stop you from doing your job in a reasonable way.

When you work for a large employer with a minimum of 50 employees, you may also have protection under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for a pregnancy or childbirth. Under the FMLA, if you are eligible and work for a covered employer, you may be able to take 12 weeks of unpaid job-protected leave for a pregnancy-related medical condition or to care for the baby. It is illegal for your employer to discriminate against you or retaliate against you for using your FMLA leave.

Explore Your Options with a Pregnancy Discrimination Lawyer in the Yonkers Area

At Phillips & Associates, our experienced attorneys help clients who are confronted with pregnancy discrimination in violation of federal or state laws. If you believe that you have been affected by this wrongful conduct, contact us at (866) 229-9441 or complete our online form to arrange a free consultation.