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Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
Women continue to experience significant workplace pregnancy discrimination, concludes a report by two women’s groups that calls for more legislation in this area.
“It Shouldn’t Be a Heavy Lift: Fair Treatment for Pregnant Workers” was released Tuesday by the Washington-based National Women’s Law Center and the New York-based legal center A Better Balance.
“Pregnant women in jobs that require physical activity are especially vulnerable to being forced out of work because their duties may pose challenges during some stages of pregnancy,” says the report. “In many cases, slight job modifications would allow these women to continue working without risk to themselves or their pregnancies.
“When employers refuse to make these adjustments, pregnant women are forced to make an impossible choice between protecting their jobs and protecting their health,” says the report.
According to the report, 88% of first time-time mothers who worked while pregnant continued on the job into their last two months of pregnancy between 2006 and 2008, and 82% worked into their last month of pregnancy.
The report, which recounts several anecdotal situations, includes sections on the legal protections available to pregnant workers and proposes changes in current law, policy and practice. It recommends passage of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which was introduced in the Senate last month and has been referred to a Senate committee.
The bill “would provide a clear and unambiguous rule requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant workers who need them unless doing so would impose undue hardship – the same standard that currently applies to workers with disabilities,” says the report.
Copies of the report are available here.