Recognize the signs of pregnancy discrimination

With women now long established in the workplace in California, pregnant women are a common sight at many jobs. Female workers are entitled to maternity leave under the California Family Rights Act and the California Pregnancy Disability Leave Law, but some employers deny them those rights, or pressure their female workers not to have children. Pregnancy discrimination, obviously, affects women the most directly, but husbands and sons may also suffer if the worker loses his or her job because she took maternity leave. Having a baby should be a joyous life event, not a reason to be the victim of employment discrimination. The law gives victims the right to fight back by seek compensation for lost wages and other damages in court. Signs that your employer is discriminating against you because you are pregnant, or there is a possibility you will become pregnant, include the following:

• Asking you if you are pregnant, or trying to get pregnant
• Failing to provide reasonable accommodations to allow you to keep working while pregnant
• Firing you for becoming pregnant
• Failing to grant you maternity leave
• Harassing you due to your pregnancy

Employers have a legal obligation to allow new mothers to take maternity leave, and hold their job for them until they get back. If they don’t, or otherwise abuse women who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant, they are discriminating against some of their employees. Workers do not have to suffer the consequences by themselves, if they hire an experienced employment law attorney.