Across the country, pregnant employees report being denied the simple, reasonable accommodations the law guarantees: a temporary transfer away from heavy lifting, lighter duty, more frequent breaks, a modified schedule, a closer parking spot, or time to recover after childbirth. Instead of adjusting, some employers refuse, force workers onto unpaid leave, demote them, or fire them outright, sometimes within days of a doctor's note.
Federal and state law are clear. The federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, and state civil-rights statutes require most employers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions unless doing so is a genuine undue hardship. State enforcers have recently found probable cause that employers, from hospitals to laboratories to cleaning companies, broke these laws, and attorneys are now reviewing new claims nationwide.
If you were denied an accommodation, forced out, or fired because you were pregnant, the law gives you a path to hold your employer accountable and to recover what you lost.
