Florida Women Protected by Federal Pregnancy Discrimination Laws
Working mothers-to-be are protected by law from workplace discrimination through the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and Family Medical Leave Act.
August 11, 2012
With the recent appointment of accomplished executive and mother-to-be Marissa Mayer as Yahoo!'s new CEO making headlines about the relationship between pregnancy and career, all working women should review the law that protects them from discrimination based on their pregnancy or childbirth.The Pregnancy Discrimination Act
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act is an amendment to the Civil Rights Act that protects women from workplace discrimination arising from a pregnancy or childbirth and any related conditions. It bars employers from discriminating against a woman because she is pregnant in any decisions regarding hiring, firing, promotion, job assignment, layoff, fringe benefit or training.
The law requires employers to grant disability leave or leave without pay for pregnant women if they offer similar leave to other disabled employees. Additionally, pregnant women must be permitted to work as long as they are able to perform their essential work duties, allowing for reasonable accommodation. Light duty and alternative assignments must be offered to pregnant women if these options are available to other disabled workers.
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act also protects pregnant women from being overlooked for wage increases, seniority considerations and vacation time. Employers cannot omit women from these decisions based on their pregnancies, just as they cannot omit other temporarily disabled employees.
More Protections: The Family and Medical Leave Act & Health Insurance
In addition to the protections granted by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, parents are also protected by the Family and Medical Leave Act. This law allows parents -- biological, foster and adoptive -- to take up to 12 weeks of leave to care for their new child. Employers may offer paid or unpaid leave and parents are only eligible if they worked for their employer for 12 months prior to start of the leave.
Laws also exist to protect the health insurance rights of pregnant employees. Companies must provide health insurance that covers pregnancy-related conditions if it provides coverage for other medical conditions. Employers must extend these rights to the wives of male employees as they do health benefits to the husbands of female employees.
Pregnant workers are protected from employer discrimination based on their conditions. If you believe you have been discriminated against because of a pregnancy or birth, please contact an experienced employment lawyer.
Article provided by Feldman, Fox & Morgado, P.A.
Visit us at www.floridatrialattorneys.net/