Pregnancy Discrimination

Learning that you are expecting a new baby should be a joyous time in your life. Unfortunately, some employers discriminate against women based on their pregnancy. For example, they reduce their workloads, pass them over for promotions, harass them, fire them, or eliminate their positions based on the false assumption that they are unable to do their jobs, do not intend to return to work after giving birth, or will not work as hard once their baby is born.

Fortunately, pregnancy discrimination is illegal in both New York and New Jersey. If you have been treated less favorably after you told your boss that you are pregnant, when you sought an accommodation for your pregnancy, or when you attempted to return to work from a maternity leave, then your employment law rights likely have been violated.

We welcome you to contact us to schedule a consultation with one of our New Jersey pregnancy discrimination attorneys.

In addition to prohibiting discrimination, both New Jersey and New York law require employers to provide employees reasonable accommodations for pregnancy. For example, your employer might be required to provide you with assistance to perform certain tasks; limit how much you need to stand, lift, or walk; permit extra restroom or water breaks; modify your job or schedule; or even reassign you to a light duty job, if doing so is necessary to allow you to work while you are pregnant.

In addition, many women experience temporary pregnancy-related disabilities such as gestational diabetes, preeclampsia or eclampsia while they are pregnant, or postpartum depression after they give birth. Like other disabilities, you might be entitled to a reasonable accommodation for your disability caused by or related to your pregnancy.

Similarly, after you give birth, your employer must accommodate you with respect to nursing, such as by providing you an appropriate private place where you can express milk.

For more information about accommodations for pregnancy, you may want to read one of the following articles:

• Appellate Court Recognizes Employers Must Accommodate Pregnancy
• New Federal Protections for Pregnant Employees
• New Jersey Passes Law Prohibiting Pregnancy Discrimination
• Reasonable Accommodations for Pregnancy Required Under Federal Law
• Catholic School Did Not Violate Law Against Discrimination by Firing Unmarried Employee When She Got Pregnant

Employees who are covered by the Family & Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") are entitled to take up to 12 weeks off per year for pregnancy-related disabilities, the birth or adoption of their child or to care for a newborn or newly adopted child. Likewise, the New Jersey Family Leave Act ("NJFLA") entitles covered parent to take as much as an additional 12 weeks off to care for their newborn child. Both the FMLA and NJFLA ordinarily require employers to return employees to their previous position or an equivalent one at the end of their maternity or paternity leave.

Pregnancy discrimination often is related to gender discrimination.  For example, an employer that discriminates against women might treat pregnant women especially poorly. Additional information about this related type of discrimination is available on our gender discrimination page.

Our New Jersey pregnancy discrimination lawyers have represented numerous women who have experienced discrimination or harassment at work because they are expecting a child.

For example, one of our precedent-setting cases involved a woman who experienced discrimination after she told her employer that she was pregnant. On appeal, the New Jersey Appellate Division ruled in her favor, and agreed she was entitled to have a jury award her damages for the emotional distress she experienced as a result.

In both New York and New Jersey, pregnancy discrimination violates the law. If your company has treated your worse because you are pregnant, Rabner Baumgart Ben-Asher & Nirenberg, P.C. can help. We welcome you to contact us online, or to call us at (201) 777-2250, to set up a meeting with one of our employment law attorneys.