Pregnancy

This employer had a “no pregnancy in the workplace” policy. No, really. It did.

June 1, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

Holy crap. Literally.

A Texas church is now about $75,000 lighter in the wallet after a federal judge determined that having and enforcing a “no pregnancy in the workplace policy,” which prohibited the continued employment of any employee who became pregnant, violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. That’s the law that prohibits discrimination based on pregnancy. Yeah, it says it right there.

Here’s more on the decision from the EEOC’s press release.

The Supreme Court kinda sorta clarifies pregnancy accommodation rules at work

March 26, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

But, I’ll do my best to sort it out for you.

Let’s assume that you have a pregnant employee who tells you that she has a lifting restriction. In the past, you have accommodated employees with disabilities who had similar lifting restrictions. You’ve also done the same for folks who got injured on the job and others who lost their Department of Transportation (DOT) certifications.

If you don’t provide the same accommodation to the pregnant employee, have you violated the Pregnancy Discrimination Act?

Let’s talk about pregnant-stripper bias. And BFOQs too. Mostly, BFOQs.

March 2, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

I know what some of you are thinking, “Seems more like a Tuesday topic to me.” To you folks I say, “Get the hell out of here! YOU’RE NUTS!!!”

Ok, you’re right, let’s start over.

One of the exotic dancers at a Georgia gentlemen’s club got preggers. Wait. Do the kids still say preggers? Yeah, let’s try and be mature about the serious Monday post. A woman who gyrates on stage for dollars, and maybe on customers’ laps too — I don’t know for sure — got pregnant. Hey, look, I’m not judging.

Two months later, she lost her job.

The woman claimed that her employment was terminated due to her pregnancy in violation of Title VII. Continue reading

FACT OR FICTION: To protect a pregnant employee, a company can make her stay home.

January 20, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

That’s right folks. It’s time for another edition of “Fact or Fiction” a/k/a “Quick Answers to Quick Questions” a/k/a QATQQ f/k/a “I don’t feel like writing a long blog post.”

Oh, if I had a nickel for every time I got this question from an employer, “Hey Eric. We have this pregnant employee and she is very close to term. We’re concerned that if she continues working all the way up to childbirth, she may harm herself or the fetus. Can we require her to stay home?”

Eek! Check out this recent press release from the EEOC in which the agency announced that it is suing an employer, which allegedly required a pregnant employee to take unpaid leave until she was cleared by a doctor indicating that she could work despite her pregnancy. The EEOC further alleges, when the employee failed to provide a release, and after she and her mother disputed the legality of the requirement, the employee was fired in retaliation.

Remember that a duty to accommodate may exist after childbirth

October 7, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Seems one employer may not have received the memo. Now, the EEOC is taking aim. More on this and some tips for employers to avoid pregnancy-accommodation traps, after the jump…

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Two years ago, no one gave this a second thought.

July 30, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

But, now. Oh boy….

Click through for a copy of the complaint.

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5 HR Essentials from the #EEOC’s New Pregnancy Discrimination Guidance

July 15, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

On the heels of yesterday’s astounding blogging success, “What LeBron’s return teaches employers about accommodating the Mark of the Beast” — Pulitzer, please — I was planning on coming at you today with “Five Workplace Lessons from Dutch Soccer’s Third Place in the World Cup.” It was going to have this cute Orange is the New Black theme, but then, the Twitterz spoke.

@EEOCNews just issued updated #Pregnancy Guidance. Check it out now: http://t.co/4L7HB9TV7a #EEOC

— EEOC.gov (@EEOCNews) July 14, 2014

Court: Pregnancy discrimination can still occur four months after childbirth

July 10, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Last night, having come across this wacky Family Show gif, I couldn’t decide whether to binge watch the first season of Amish Mafia. Again. For the third time.

(And, by third, I mean eighth).

Or dip my English toe into the Breaking Amish pool.

Teacher can’t return to work two weeks after maternity leave ends, but may have an ADA claim

April 29, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Recently, I gave a webinar about the interplay between the Family and Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. One of the takeaways there was that, when an employee’s 12 weeks of FMLA leave expire, you need to be thinking about ADA implications rather than processing a pink slip at 12 weeks and a day. This is because additional leave may be a reasonable accommodation.

The same issues can arise if you have a pregnant employee. That is, you need to consider the interplay between the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the ADA.

A recent case shows how the ADA may apply to pregnant employees.

As of Sunday, Philadelphia businesses without this workplace poster are breaking the law

April 22, 2014 | by Eric B. Meyer

Back in February, I reported here about the new pregnancy-accommodation law that went into effect in Philadelphia.

The law requires local business to provide reasonable workplace accommodations for employees who have needs related to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition.

The law also requires Philly employers to post notice of the new law in the workplace.