Pregnant Workers Face Workplace Challenges Despite New Protections

Despite the protections offered by the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which took effect in June 2023, many women continue to face challenges navigating pregnancy and postpartum needs in the workplace. The law requires employers with at least 15 employees to provide reasonable health and safety accommodations for pregnant workers and those who have recently given birth, enabling them to remain in their jobs.

Under the act, employees are entitled to various accommodations, such as help with physically demanding tasks, flexible scheduling for medical appointments, and reduced exposure to hazardous chemicals. The law also covers individuals undergoing fertility treatments and pregnant workers with medical conditions. For nursing mothers, it guarantees breaks and a private space, other than a bathroom, for expressing milk.

"Your employer cannot force you on leave or retaliate against you for requesting accommodation," said Inimai Chettiar, president of A Better Balance, a nonprofit legal advocacy organization. "And the employer has to prove that it would be an undue hardship for them to deny the accommodation, and that’s a really high legal standard. They have to prove it would cause them significant difficulty or expense."

Many women, however, still worry about how disclosing a pregnancy or requesting job modifications might affect their employment prospects. Heydi Fernandez, an emergency medical technician, experienced this when her ambulance dispatch station lacked a private space for her to pump breast milk after returning to work. She resorted to expressing milk at a dining table, which led to an awkward encounter with her company's CEO.

Later, Fernandez's manager informed her that her pumping breaks interfered with customer needs and gave her two weeks to choose a new shift. After contacting A Better Balance, she learned that such schedule changes due to lactation could be considered retaliation, which is prohibited by both the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act. Fernandez was ultimately able to keep her original schedule.

Legal experts advise women to document all communication with employers regarding pregnancy-related needs and to consider disclosing their pregnancy after the first trimester, or when advised by a doctor to request specific modifications. "The sad reality is that pregnant workers still need to tread really carefully, and in our experience pregnancy discrimination is still insidious and rampant," Chettiar noted.

Amy Green, who experienced multiple miscarriages before needing hormone injections for a subsequent pregnancy, shared her anxieties about job hunting while pregnant. Despite a 1978 amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibiting pregnancy-based discrimination, Green worried about not being considered for positions, particularly due to the need for health insurance. She described the situation as a no-win scenario for women.

Protections extend beyond pregnancy to postpartum recovery, with new mothers able to request paid or unpaid time off for miscarriages or conditions like postpartum depression. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and related legislation aim to ensure that employers accommodate these needs without penalty to the employee.