Some women breeze through pregnancy. They experience minimal symptoms and manage to continue working throughout all 40 weeks of gestation. Others may find that they develop major medical challenges. Some women develop gestational diabetes or preeclampsia. Others have devastating deliveries that leave them in need of rest as they recover.
In theory, most pregnant women have a right to ask their employers for certain accommodations, as well as unpaid leave after they give birth. Both federal regulations and California state statutes protect pregnant employees from discrimination. Unfortunately, many women experience mistreatment during or after pregnancy despite the protections in place.
A refusal to provide accommodations is one of the most common forms of pregnancy discrimination. Employers sometimes force women to risk their health or leave their jobs by refusing to make their work environment safer. Can a business ever justify the decision to deny a pregnant worker on-the-job accommodations?
Some refusals may not violate labor laws
There are a limited number of circumstances in which employers could decline accommodation requests without facing risk. One of those scenarios is when the company is relatively small. California state pregnancy discrimination protections only apply to businesses with five or more employees. Especially small businesses may not be able to absorb the cost of accommodating a pregnant worker.
The nature of the accommodation and the work the professional performs can also be key considerations. The accommodations sought need to be reasonable given the work that the employee does and the impact their request might have on company operations.
In some cases, workers might request accommodations not supported by the medical documentation that they present to their employers. For example, a worker subject to lifting restrictions might ask for work-from-home arrangements, which may not be appropriate or reasonable given the situation.
Provided that the accommodation requested is appropriate, that the company can accommodate the worker and that the business is large enough, employers should provide support as necessary for the health and safety of a worker throughout your pregnancy. Sadly, some employers refuse accommodations as a means of getting pregnant women to leave their jobs.
Those denied reasonable accommodations that are medically necessary may need to take legal action to assert their rights. Maintaining personal records can help people prove that they experienced pregnancy discrimination and may make it easier for them to take legal action later.