Virginia Pregnancy Accommodation
Experienced Pregnancy Accommodation Attorneys
At the Federal Practice Group, our team of Virginia pregnancy accommodation attorneys have established a reputation in the community for being a legal team you can depend on. Discrimination against a pregnant woman or her partner in the workplace should never be tolerated. Many have lost their job, been demoted, and told that they would be unfit mothers if they continued to work after they have given birth.
If you have been discriminated against in any way because you are pregnant or know someone who has been, please do not hesitate to contact a discrimination attorney today. There are two major acts that relate to work or pregnancy rights:
- The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (also known as the PDA)
- The Family and Medical Leave Act (also known as the FMLA)
Why Virginia Pregnancy Accommodation is Important
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act was passed in 1978 and amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Its purpose was to prohibit sex discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, as well as cover discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. The PDA provides the protection for pregnant workers involving hiring, pregnancy and maternity leave, health insurance and fringe benefits.
The PDA also works to prohibit discrimination based on current pregnancy, past pregnancy, potential or intended pregnancy, and any medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth. It should be noted that the Pregnancy and Discrimination act only applies to employers with 15 employees or more. Employers are exempt from providing medical coverage for elective abortions, except in the event that there is a risk posed to the mother’s life. Accommodations in the workplace are essential for pregnant employees. If you are in need of Virginia Pregnancy Accommodation representation, or representation beyond Virginia, our team of discrimination attorneys can help.
Common Questions
The pregnancy discrimination act or amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was created for the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions constituents unlawful sex discrimination. The pregnancy discrimination act and amendment means the employers with 15 or more employees including state and local governments cannot discriminate against somebody for their pregnancy. Virginia pregnancy accommodation falls under a discrimination claim.
What does this Title VII protect?
Title VII protects pyrene, which means an employee cannot refuse to hire a pregnant person because of their pregnancy, because of the pregnancy related condition or because of the prejudices of coworkers, clients or customers in relation to a pregnancy.
The title also prevents pregnancy and maternity leave. An employer may not single out pregnant workers due to their pregnancy to do special tasks in order to determine whether they are able to continue working. However if an employee does require its employees to submit a doctor’s statement concerned their inability to work before granting leave or paying sick benefits, the employer may require employees affected by pregnancy related conditions to submit such statement and this is considered to be legal.
If an employee is temporarily disabled because of their pregnancy, the employer must do in the same as any other temporarily disabled employee. This means providing Virginia pregnancy accommodation. For example if the employer laws temporarily disabled employees of modified tasks, alternative assignments or take disability leave or leave without pay, the employer must extend this to pregnant employees.
Employees must be permitted to work as long as they can perform their jobs to satisfactory conditions. If an employee has been absent from work as a result of a pregnancy related condition and recovers the employer may not require them to remain on leave until the baby is born. An employer may also not have a rule that prohibits an employee from returning to work for a predetermined length of time after childbirth.
The PDA also states that any health insurance which is provided by an employer must be for pregnancy and pregnancy related conditions on the same basis as cost per other medical conditions. An employer need not provide health insurance. Expenses that arise from importance except for the life of the person are in danger. The amounts that are payable by the insurance provider can be limited to only the same extent as amount payable conditions, meaning no additional or increased or larger will can be imposed on someone for being pregnant.
The Stats & Examples
Women make up over 50% of the United States workforce and according to the American community survey or ACS working mothers account for 32% of all women who work. This means that federal employee pregnancy discrimination is a big issue for a lot of people in the workforce. And Virginia pregnancy accommodation, and beyond, is vital.
Data is going to prove that prenatal care, pregnancy, daycare and other caretaking tasks affect many of the work-related decisions a woman who is a working mother will make during her career. This means a woman has to take into account if she can take a promotion and still have child care.
The United States is one of the only industrialized countries that has a lot lacking when it comes to leave mandates especially surrounding pregnancy and abortions. In fact maternity your parental leave is often demonstrated the temporary disability program. Pregnancy is not a disability yet it is treated like one.
Pregnancy discrimination includes all forms of unfavorable treatment towards someone who may become pregnant or is pregnant. The nasty truth is an employer might consider your age, and your likelihood to become pregnant, when they are considering hiring you. They cannot ask you out right if you plan on having a family, or if you have children, but it is definitely something they can infer with the right questions. These questions are ones you are not obligated to answer, but you might feel obligated because it’s coming from a potential employer.
There are a few types of pregnancy-based discrimination, such as discrimination during the hiring process, discrimination during pregnancy, discrimination during IVF or fertility treatments, discrimination upon returning to work.
According to the pregnancy discrimination act of 1978 it is illegal to ask whether someone plans to have a child, or not. Even if someone is visibly pregnant during the job interview you are not supposed to take this into account in any way. Pregnancy, childbirth, and pregnancy related medical issues cannot legally affect someone’s ability to be hired.
Employees in turn can ask about the company’s insurance coverage, their benefits packages and maternity leave policies. In a few states it might even be a good idea to ask about the company’s short-term disability as it is often applied to pregnancy. Workers are not required to inform their employees of intent to become pregnant or of being pregnant. The only time they would do so is that they require accommodations to do their job or maternity leave.
If you or someone you know is struggling with receiving Virginia pregnancy accommodations, record everything that you can. And bring it to a federal employee pregnancy discrimination lawyer in Virginia.
What is the Family and Medical Leave Act?
The Family and Medical Leave Act was passed in 1993 as a federal law that requires employers to provide employees with job protection and unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reasons including personal illness and family military leave, as well as adoption and pregnancy. The FMLA was intended to balance the demands of the workplace with the needs of the family according to the Department of Labor. As your Virginia pregnancy accommodation representation may explain, in order to be eligible for coverage under the Family and Medical Leave Act, you must:
- Have worked for the specific employer for at least a year
- Have worked at minimum 1,250 hours
- Have worked at a location that was within 75 miles of your job site (that had at least 50 employees)
Under the Family and Medical Leave Act, an employee is entitled to 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave over the course of a year. If you meet these criteria and continue to be discriminated against or denied leave, you may be entitled to compensation.
Contact an FPG Federal Employee Discrimination Attorney
Women’s rights in the workplace should not have to be fought for, especially if it is concerning pregnancy. Please contact an discrimination attorney if you have experienced any discrimination in the workplace based on you or your partner’s pregnancy. You may be able to recover lost wages and pain and suffering compensation for the trouble you went through. Virginia pregnancy accommodation representation is crucial to obtaining what is rightfully yours. Contact our discrimination attorneys today.