Pregnant then Screwed, American Style

In this episode, I break down two major federal laws passed in 2023 that expand workplace protections for women—especially those who are pregnant, postpartum, or breastfeeding. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) gives employees the right to reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, similar to the ADA standard, as long as the employer has 15 or more employees. We also cover the PUMP Act, which strengthens and broadens the right to break time and a private space to express breast milk at work. Together, these laws close long-standing gaps in federal protections and help ensure that women don’t have to choose between their jobs and their health.

Deborah O'Rell and I (and guests in the women's rights and health space) will be recording this podcast again on Fridays at 9 am. We'll be chatting and riffing about women's workplace rights in terms of pregnancy protections, what to do about your perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms if they're interfering with your performance, how to advocate to be paid what your worth, and what to do when you're being sexualized at work.

Let me tell you a story about a current pregnant client who’s enduring wild discriminatory hostility just because she’s with child. I discuss what her (and your) rights are under the pregnancy protective federal and state statutes.

Under federal and most state and city anti-discrimination laws, almost ALL employers are required to show compassion and flexibility* to its pregnant employees during their pregnancies, after their babies are born, and even after they return to work and require accommodations for lactation and breast feeding purposes. Any differential or hostile workplace treatment because of pregnancy is illegal sex, gender, and pregnancy discrimination and often disability discrimination, too. Document in writing any requests for flexibility and pregnancy-related accommodations, as well as complaints about discriminatory treatment you're experiencing due to your pregnancy, related medical conditions, and your need for OB/Gyn appointments and testing, and requests for temporary light duty. Step up and fight for your right to be equal! And don't quit  your job due to discrimination, as that's like throwing out the baby with the bath water! 🙄🤓 Put the company on notice about your requests and complaints, and let them investigate and do the right thing to hook you up, as they're required to do. If your company treats you worse, or refuses to implement a reasonable request for flexibility of your pregnancy, then you can chat with an employment lawyer. *Compassion and flexibility is better known in legal parlance as reasonable accommodations of the natural limitations of pregnancy, or its related medical issues.

If you're treated differently in the workplace because of pregnancy throughout your gestational cycle, including through maternity leave and your return to work, it's illegal sex, gender, pregnancy and often disability discrimination. This sex-based differential treatment includes failure to promote because of pregnancy.

YES!  You ARE entitled to breastfeed your baby and/or pump breast milk in the workplace postpartum, for one year after childbirth under federal law and for three years after childbirth under New York and Connecticut laws, and ALL 50 states have their own laws on breastfeeding and expressing milk at work.  Listen to a brief summary of your lactation rights presented by Jack Bryant Tuckner, Esq., Women's Rights in the Workplace lawyer based in New York. Find your particular state law on postpartum breastfeeding and milk pumping at work at this link.  Jack Tuckner can be reached for questions at @jacktuckner on Twitter and Jack Tuckner on LinkedIn and Facebook. Email [email protected]

There are a mix of confusing federal and state laws governing maternity leave, but the bottom line? YOU ARE ENTITLED TO MATERNITY LEAVE.

Pregnancy discrimination cases are on the rise again, in part because federal, state, and city laws have expanded pregnant employees’ workplace rights. Learn what to do initially to ensure the greatest protection against unlawful and sexist pregnancy discrimination. (spoiler alert, it involves written notification to your company)!

Most employee rights pregnancy discrimination attorneys will take your case on a contingent-fee basis, meaning that they’ll only get paid if and when the case resolves. Join Jack and Deborah and learn what to look for when hiring a lawyer for your pregnancy discrimination claim.

I’m pregnant, due in May and incredibly anxious about giving birth in a NYC hospital during this coronavirus crisis. I’m having a hard time concentrating at work and my boss is harassing me. Do I have any recourse?