What to do about possible pregnancy discrimination?
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What to do about possible pregnancy discrimination?
I have been at my job for 3 years and I just found out that I am pregnant. Since I told my boss she has treated me totally differently. She even wrote me up. This is the first time I have ever been written up. When I told her that I felt like I was being discriminated against, it got worse. What should I do?
Asked on December 17, 2010 under Employment Labor Law, Kentucky
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 14 years ago | Contributor
As you probably are aware, it's illegal to discriminate against women in employment on account of pregnancy. While a company may make certain reasonable and necessary accomodations to pregnancy (e.g. change duties, so a pregnant woman doesn't have to do heavy lifting or risk exposure to certain substances), that's about all they can do. If you are experiencing pregnancy-related job discrimination, you may have a legal claim. You should first speak with an employment attorney (many will speak with initially for free, to see if there's a case worth exploring), who can help you understand the strength of your potential case and what it might be worth; if what you could recover is not enough to justify an attorney (e.g. you haven't suffered much actual "damage"), then you might file a complaint with the state or federal labor department.
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