The Pregnancy Discrimination Act has now been in place for over 40 years. While the law has many protections, its simple goal is to prevent discrimination in the workplace against females who are pregnant. Even though Alabama workers are typically at-will employees, the Federal discrimination law prevent an employer from applying different standards to different categories of employees.
The following is a list of common actions by your employer that may violate the Pregnancy Discrimination Act:
- Firing, demoting or harassing a pregnant employee
- Refusing to hire or promote a pregnant employee
- Refusing to provide job accommodations for a pregnant employee or for medical conditions related to the pregnancy
- Forcing a pregnant employee to change positions or take time off
While the above list are common pregnancy discrimination issues, there are also ways employers may discriminate against pregnant workers in less obvious ways. Sometimes an employer may initiate discussions about accommodations by the employee that are unwanted like reducing hours, limiting travel or training or performing less physical work. These “negotiations” may be evidence that the employer is applying different rules to pregnant workers that impair job advancement.
Our Birmingham, Alabama employment law firm has handled a number of pregnancy discrimination and harassment cases throughout the State of Alabama. If you feel you may have suffered pregnancy discrimination please contact us at (205) 588-0699 for a free consultation to discuss your potential case.