Friday, November 28, 2008
Pregnancy discrimination
According to the statutes under the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act, employers must treat women affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions in the same manner as other employees or applicants with the same skills or limitations. As long as a woman is able to perform the essential functions of a job, an employer can't fire, refuse to hire, or deny a promotion to her because of a pregnancy-related condition. Furthermore, if she's willing and able to work, she can't be forced to take her pregnancy leave early. In general, pregnant women must be treated in the same way as any other temporarily disabled employee. This may mean employers must provide modified tasks, alternative assignments, or disability leave when a pregnant woman is temporarily unable to perform her job. Employers must also hold open a job for a pregnant woman the same length of time jobs are held open for employees on sick or disability leave, as well as provide the same level of medical benefits. In addition to the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, pregnant women may also have rights under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act as well as under individual state or local laws. If you think that you're the victim of pregnancy discrimination, you can file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
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3 comments:
I agree 100% with this. A lot of women are thought of as not being able to do their job. I know that pregnant women do get tired easier than most other workers, however soon to be mothers need money for their new child. I feel like that this law is not being inforced in a lot of work places. And I am not sure if a lot of women are even aware of this law.
My aunt works at a winery owned by Kicks Brooks of Brooks and Dunn in Nashville, TN. On September 3 she gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, but during her pregnancy, she was the object of a lot of discrimination at work. The manager needed to leave the premises for the day and assigned a new, incapable employee to run the show for a day. Later, the manager told my aunt that she would have been the one he chose except that she was pregnant. Needless to say, my aunt let him have it. She was perfectly capable of being in charge, knew more than the other employee, had seniority, and was doing more heavy lifting than most of the guys. She made it quite clear that she did not appreciate being discriminated against, and that being pregnant did not make her any less capable than she was before. They didn't do it to her again...
I agree but it really depends on the type of job the mother has. For example there was a girl at my work who was a server and when she got pregnant they moved her to the bar when she reached a certain term. A lot of that was for health reasons. Women who are pregnant are not supposed to do heavy lifting, etc. I'm not saying they are helpless but there are certain restrictions.
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