Becoming a mother is every woman’s dream and when that moment comes in your life, you are the happiest you have ever been. It might be possible that when your employer found out about your pregnancy, there are chances that you are being discriminated against for being pregnant. Let’s make it clear that for anyone in the workplace including the employer, it is illegal and unlawful to discriminate against an employee for their pregnancy or any condition related to it. Thus, if you are pregnant and feel that things are not right at the workplace, search for “Lawyers near me for discrimination” to get legal advice on the matter.
And being a responsible and informed employee of an organization, you must know that your rights are protected under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 (PDA). And here are a few examples for you to understand.
• Not hiring a candidate because she is pregnant or planning to get pregnant in the future.
• Terminating the employee because she is pregnant.
• Taunting, commenting, or harassing the employee on her pregnancy.
• Not provided with reasonable accommodation.
• Refusing from giving the promotion that the employee deserves because of her pregnancy.
Thus, these are some of the reasons and there could be many that lead to pregnancy discrimination. And if you are a victim of it, here’s how you can prove pregnancy discrimination.
Filing a complaint with EEOC
The first step in this procedure should be filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the related state agency. You have around 180 days from the date the discrimination took place to file the complaint. And to prove your discrimination claim, you are going to need:
• A proof that you are pregnant
• A proof that your employer took an unlawful action against you
• A proof that the unlawful action was completely related to your pregnancy
• A proof that you are a deserving candidate for the job
Suspicious timing
Pregnancy discrimination is surely not easy to prove because these are generally subtle forms of discrimination. But having a piece of evidence that reflects the suspicious timing of the employer, can be the strongest one that you can showcase in court. For instance, if your employer decided not to promote you just after he found out that you are pregnant, it adds up to the suspicious timing. Another suspicious timing example can be your termination right after you applied for the pregnancy leave. It is extremely crucial to present evidence that clearly shows that whatever adverse actions were taken by the employer are directly related to your pregnancy.
False reasons were given by the employer or management
Many times, it happens that the employer gives false reasons to cover up that adverse action. For instance, if you were not given a particular project stating that you do not have the certain set of skills required for it and were given to another candidate. If that candidate also does not have that skill set for the project then you can present it in the court as supporting evidence for your claim.
No matter what the situation is, you must consult a discrimination lawyer to get the best opinion and road ahead in your case.
