There are many potential examples of pregnancy discrimination in the workplace. For instance, if a coworker becomes pregnant and is promptly fired, that is a clear sign of discrimination. If a company refuses to hire someone who’s already pregnant, that is also discrimination. If a pregnant worker asks for simple accommodations, such as a reduction in the physical activities they have to perform, and the employer refuses to oblige them, that could also be pregnancy discrimination.
But one important thing to remember is that a person doesn’t even have to be pregnant to face this type of discrimination. As the Supreme Court ruled, simply discriminating against someone who has the “capacity to become pregnant” is already a violation of the law.
How would this occur?
For example, say that a young woman applies for a job. During the interview, she tells the employer that she recently got married and she hopes to have a family one day.
As a result, even though the woman is the most qualified candidate and performed excellently in the interview, the employer decides not to hire her. He doesn’t want to have to deal with a future pregnancy or making accommodations in the workplace, so it seems easiest just to deny the woman employment in the first place.
The problem here is that this could be just a form of gender discrimination, especially targeted at women in a certain age group. That is still a violation of their rights to equal treatment in the workplace, even if they never become pregnant in their lives.
Your legal options
Do you believe that you have faced discrimination based on your gender, age or pregnancy status? If so, it’s important to understand all of the legal options at your disposal.