Maternity Leave Discrimination

Pregnancy Discrimination Act

In the United States, there is an Act that protects the rights of pregnant women in the work force, and it is called the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.  The Pregnancy Discrimination Act was passed as an amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.  This Act prohibits employers from discriminating against women who are pregnant and women who plan to utilize maternity leave benefits. 

When a pregnant woman needs to take a temporary leave of absence from work, referred to as maternity leave, the law and Pregnancy Discrimination Act clearly state that the woman must be treated like any other worker who needs a leave of absence due to a disability.  A pregnant woman who needs to take maternity leave is only temporarily unable to do her job, which means she should be able to return to work, like any other temporarily disabled worker.  After maternity leave, women have the right to return to work and their jobs, and should not have to worry about their job security.

Reporting Maternity Leave Discrimination

Unfortunately, there are cases where employers choose to discriminate against women who take maternity leave, and even go so far as to fire the women when they try to return to work.  This is extremely unlawful, and a direct violation of a woman’s Civil Rights.  This form of discrimination should never be tolerated from an employer and should always be reported immediately.

The best thing a woman can do when she has been discriminated against in the workplace is to report the discrimination to either upper management or his/her company’s human resources department.  If neither of these two options are available, or if the employee reported the discrimination and corrective measures were not implemented, it is a good idea for the employee to consult with an experienced Los Angeles employment law attorney who has handled prior maternity leave discrimination cases, like the attorneys at Employment Lawyer's Group.

Los Angeles Disability Discrimination Lawyers

If you are a current, past, or potential employee who has been subjected to illegal treatment, such as maternity leave discrimination, call 1-888-252-7991 to speak with one of our knowledgeable Los Angeles employment law attorneys.