You should tell your employer you are pregnant as soon as you are comfortable doing so. Your pregnancy should be an exciting and special time for you and your family. Your employer cannot discriminate against you for your pregnancy or your maternity leave.
Unfortunately, pregnancy discrimination is one of the most common forms of employment discrimination. This discrimination can occur in a variety of ways, including harassment, failure to accommodate, refusal to hire, or retaliation.
Pregnancy Discrimination
Pregnancy discrimination is prohibited in every aspect of employment. For example, an employer may not:
- Refuse to consider an applicant because she is pregnant
- Fire an employee because she is pregnant
- Require an employee to take leave at a certain point in her pregnancy, if she is able to work and wants to continue doing so, or deny an employee job opportunities, such as training or promotions, based on the mistaken belief that she will not return to work after having a baby
Under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD) and other federal statutes including the US Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), your employer has a responsibility to prevent pregnancy discrimination and provide pregnant employees with reasonable accommodation. Pregnant women should be treated no differently than any other employee.
Further, under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), any employee who has worked for at least 12 months for an employer with a certain number of employees may be eligible for 12 weeks of paid or unpaid leave to care for their new child, including foster and adopted children.
Contact An Experienced Red Bank Pregnancy Discrimination Lawyer Today
There are laws in place at both a state and federal level to protect the rights of pregnant employees. If you have been the victim of pregnancy discrimination in the workplace, such as being fired, demoted, or harassed because of pregnancy, contact McOmber McOmber & Luber, P.C. today. With offices in Newark, NJ, Red Bank, NJ and Marlton, NJ, we have experience helping clients throughout Burlington County fight against workplace discrimination