Federal Pregnancy Discrimination Bill Has a Shot at Passing

April 2, 2021 | by Nassiri Law

Pregnant workers have long faced discrimination in the workplace. California has some of the strongest protections for pregnant workers, but our employment discrimination lawyers in L.A. know employees in the rest of the country has not been so fortunate. That could soon change, if a new bill moving through the House is successful.

The bill, called the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, or PWFA, was first introduced in 2012 – and nearly every House session since. In the meantime, pregnancy discrimination lawsuits across the U.S. have numbered in the thousands – including one that made it to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Now, it seems the latest effort has real promise. When H.R. 1065 was first introduced several months ago, it got 225 sponsors and included representative from both sides of the political aisle, increasing optimism about its prospects.

What Would the PWFA Do?

The main thing the PWFA could do for pregnant workers across the country is to both clarify and strengthen the decades-old Pregnancy Discrimination Act. This law made it unlawful for employers to use pregnancy as a determining factor when deciding who to hire, fire, promote, etc.

The PDA has some great intent and important protections. But as our Los Angeles pregnancy discrimination lawyers know, it doesn’t go far enough for many workers. It was passed as an amendment to the 1964 Civil Rights Act some four decades ago. The original federal law is frankly pretty ambiguous. Critical language is left undefined, and frequently, employee plaintiffs face an almost insurmountable proof burden to establish discrimination. Continue Reading ›

Pregnancy Discrimination Lawsuit Filed Against Soul Cycle

September 28, 2020 | by Nassiri Law

A mere month after giving birth, a former executive at SoulCycle was fired. Now, according to Business Insider, she’s suing for “blatant” pregnancy discrimination. She alleges in her 32-page complaint that the company’s CEO openly and vulgarly mocked parental leave prior to her taking it. She said the company “unforgivably” used the COVID-19 pandemic as a pretext to fire her, when the actual reason was discriminatory.

At the time of her termination, plaintiff had worked for the corporation 7 years and oversaw more than 400 instructors. When she revealed her pregnancy late last year, she said, her superiors began treating her differently. She was told she’d be moved to a new position once her maternity leave was up. This new position, she says, was effectively a demotion, and there was no legitimate reason given for it. She had her child in late March. Little more than a month later, she was told her position was eliminated. She reports she wasn’t the only one. Three other women who had recently returned from maternity leave or were pregnant were also let go.

Her complaint had been filed after two instructors publicly quite their jobs over concerns about racial inclusivity. Continue Reading ›

$2.8 Million California Pregnancy Discrimination Settlement Reached

July 2, 2020 | by Nassiri Law

A supermarket chain has agreed to pay nearly $3 million to settle a class action California pregnancy discrimination lawsuit for its refusal to allow pregnant workers to go on light duty – something it allowed other temporarily disabled workers to do.

As our Orange County pregnancy discrimination lawyers can explain, both federal and state law provides protection for pregnant workers. The federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act requires employers to treat women affected by pregnancy or related medical conditions the same way they would non-pregnant workers or applicants who have a similar ability/inability to work. The California Fair Employment and Housing Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender – which includes pregnancy, childbirth and related conditions. FEHA also requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation for a known physical disability of an employee unless they can show doing so would create an undue hardship. Continue Reading ›

Google Accused of Pregnancy Discrimination

February 19, 2020 | by Nassiri Law

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has launched an investigation into an alleged case of pregnancy discrimination stemming from a former employee’s memo that went viral last year.

The memo, titled, “I’m Not Returning to Google After Maternity Leave, and Here is Why, My Story of Retaliation and Discrimination at Google,” was penned by a former manager. She had worked for the company for five years, receiving stellar reviews during that time. According to her letter, treatment by her supervisors abruptly changed once she spoke up to human resources on behalf of a worker who was pregnant. Her supervisor had begun making inappropriate comments about the pregnant worker to other managers, lamenting that she was pregnant again, saying the employee was overly-emotional and difficult to work with while pregnant and expressing regret that adverse action could not be taken against her because, “you can’t touch employees after they disclose such things.” Once HR spoke to the offending supervisor, her attitude toward the claimant suddenly changed.

Claimant, who herself was pregnant, says the company retaliated against by unfairly denying her a leadership position and suddenly giving her poor performance reviews. She was transferred to another team at her request, but was told she couldn’t be a manager until after she returned from maternity leave because her being gone for three months would “rock the boat.” She later told media outlets that it wasn’t until she hired an employment attorney that the company’s HR department finally launched an investigation into her numerous complaints of discrimination and retaliation. Continue Reading ›

Restaurant Server Pregnancy Discrimination Lawsuit Settled for Nearly $19k

January 20, 2020 | by Nassiri Law

Pregnancy discrimination remains an ongoing problem in workplaces throughout the U.S. and California. Women make up half the workforce, and almost 85 percent of them will become mothers at some point during their careers. And yet, as our Los Angeles pregnancy discrimination lawyers have seen time and again, pregnancy and childbirth are treated as if they are some kind of deviation from the norm. That’s because many workplaces are constructed around the arcane idea that the ideal worker is male.

An employer commits pregnancy discrimination when taking adverse action on the basis of an employee’s pregnancy, childbirth or condition related to pregnancy or childbirth. Some pregnancy-related medical conditions may include:

Gestational diabetes
Hyperemesis gravidarum
Preeclampsia

Pregnant workers with these conditions are entitled to reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Food Service Industry Pregnancy Discrimination

Pregnant Workers Allege Lack of Employment Protections

August 3, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

Roughly 85 percent of working women will become mothers at some point during their careers. There are numerous legal protections in place to ensure they aren’t discriminated for this, including California’s rule against pregnancy-based harassment as well as the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, a federal law. And yet, pregnancy is often treated some sort of deviation from the ideal norm.

Almost all pregnant workers will need some time away from work to attend prenatal appointments. Others will need more time off due to the need for emergency medical care. Unfortunately, too many employers all too often respond to these needs with a penalty – which is illegal. Women go to the hospital for a few days, only to learn when they return home that they’ve lost their jobs, their health insurance and sometimes, ultimately, their homes – told their pregnancy-related hospital stays amounted to “unauthorized absences” or “no-call-no-shows.”

Some of these absences are covered under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (which allows unpaid time off for medical emergencies) but this is only applicable to companies with 50 or more workers – and employees need to have held that job for at least one year. That means 44 percent of all U.S. workers won’t have that protection. Continue Reading ›

Employee Lawsuits Describe a Pattern of Pregnancy Discrimination at Amazon

May 6, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

Workers at Amazon fulfillment centers across the country – including right here in San Bernardino, CA – allege they were victims of pregnancy discrimination by their employer.

As reported by CNet.com, one worker said she was fired just two months after she reported her pregnancy to her bosses, who in the interim complained about her increased bathroom breaks and slowed pace over the course of subsequent 10-hour shifts.

Our pregnancy discrimination attorneys in San Bernardino have learned approximately half-a-dozen women are suing the technology giant, claiming pregnancy discrimination. Continue Reading ›

California Pregnancy Discrimination Alleged By Transit Agency Employer

April 29, 2019 | by Nassiri Law

Female bus drivers who say they were discriminated against for their pregnancies by their California employer the transit authority in California, are suing the agency, saying they were:

Exposed to carbon monoxide fumes;
Not given accommodation for lactation (forcing them to drive while they were uncomfortably engorged);
Refused reasonable modifications and arrangements that caused them physical stress, exhaustion and unplanned, unpaid leave that left them without health insurance coverage.

The four women say this treatment by the Northern California provider is in direct violation of the state’s fair employment housing act, which mandates reasonable accommodations for those enduring pregnancy-related disabilities – just as the companies would accommodate a worker with disabilities. The transit authority, they allege, made work life difficult for pregnant employees, and they are seeking to establish class action status.

What is Pregnancy Discrimination in California?

New Father Alleges Employer Committed Pregnancy Discrimination Against Him

December 17, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

Pregnancy discrimination has always been, somewhat unavoidably, an issue strictly affecting women, as the only gender able to become pregnant. However, a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit out of San Luis Obispo is challenging that notion.

SanLuisObispo.com reports plaintiff is a former high school counselor whose contract was not renewed – despite initially very positive evaluations of his work – after his wife gave birth to twins. The former counselor and new father said shortly after word of his wife’s pregnancy became common knowledge, his supervisor began making negative remarks about the news.

He’d been hired in the summer of 2015 for what was to be a one-year contract, with a shot at a permanent position if it went well. A month after landing the job, he learned his wife was pregnant, and two months after that, he told a co-worker. His supervisor allegedly made statements to the effect plaintiff would not be able to afford to care for his family and inquired about his wife’s stay-at-home lifestyle. At an evaluation meeting a couple of months later, he received positive reviews. Continue Reading ›

Pregnancy Discrimination Still Kicking in 2017

September 6, 2017 | by Nassiri Law

Whether you paint the room in pink or blue (or some gender neutral hue), pregnancy can still earn you a pink slip. It’s illegal, of course. As the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) notes, it is unlawful to treat a female applicant or employee unfavorably due to pregnancy, childbirth or a medical condition related to childbirth or pregnancy.

The Pregnancy Disability Act, passed almost 40 years ago, prohibits discrimination on the basis of pregnancy in any aspect of employment. In situations where a woman is temporarily unable to perform job duties due to pregnancy, childbirth or related condition, the employer is required to treat her in the same way it would treat any other temporarily disabled employee – with alternative assignments, light duty, disability leave or unpaid leave.

Despite all this, employers continue to discriminate against workers on the basis of pregnancy and childbirth. They may not be as blatant about it as they were four decades ago, but it’s still happening. Continue Reading ›