New Jersey employers are forbidden from engaging in discrimination on the job for various reasons. As an employee, you may be a part of a “protected class,” which means that your employer cannot give you differential treatment. “Pregnancy” is one of these protected classes, and you may be able to file a lawsuit against your employer if they have discriminated against you on this basis. However, these cases are often hard fought, and they are not easy to prove.

There are many scenarios in which pregnant workers could face discrimination. These forms of illegal treatment may include the following:

  • Not hiring you for a job due to the fact that you are pregnant.
  • Not allowing you a reasonable accommodation to perform your work during the time that you are pregnant.
  • Terminating you or laying you off while you are pregnant or on maternity leave.
  • Making disparaging comments or subjecting you to a hostile work environment due to your pregnancy.
  • Refusing to grant maternity leave or time off that you need when you are pregnant.

Pregnancy Discrimination Laws in New Jersey

There are several main federal laws that prohibit pregnancy discrimination. First, as a pregnant woman, you are protected by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Your employer is not allowed to discriminate against you due to:

  • Pregnancy
  • Childbirth
  • Related medical conditions

Simply stated, your employer must treat you the same as any other worker when it comes to things like hiring, firing, pay, and promotion.

There is also a specific law that was passed in 2003 called the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). This law requires your employer to provide you with reasonable accommodations that allow you to do your work while you are pregnant. The PWFA extends protections that you already have under the Civil Rights Act. In addition, the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) may also apply to your case, providing you with additional protections. The only reason why your employer may validly deny you a reasonable accommodation to allow you to do your job is when it can present an undue hardship for them.

New Jersey has its own myriad of state laws that also protect you as a pregnant woman. In some cases, these laws go beyond federal statutes and provide you with additional protections. For example, federal civil rights laws apply to employers who have 15 or more workers. In New Jersey, pregnancy protections apply to employers who have one or more employees.

What to Do When Your Rights Have Been Violated

Every single one of these laws gives you a private right of action to file a lawsuit against your employer when you have encountered pregnancy discrimination. As such, you should carefully document any instance of employer conduct that you believe to be discriminatory in nature. Further, you should hire an employment lawyer as soon as possible who can review your situation and potentially file a lawsuit on your behalf.

There are some pregnancy discrimination cases that could be more difficult to prove than others. If your employer has refused to grant you a reasonable accommodation, that type of case may be clearer because the legal questions will involve whether the accommodation was reasonable and whether your employer faced a potential undue hardship.

In other cases, the legal fight may be more difficult because your employer will never admit the true basis for their actions. For example, if you have been terminated from your job, the employer may try to make it about your performance, or they may claim that they were laying off workers and they were treating everyone equally.

Contact Our Mount Laurel Employment Lawyers at Burnham Douglass if You Have Questions About Your Workplace Rights

If you are a pregnant woman who has been discriminated against due to your condition, our Mount Laurel employment lawyers at Burnham Douglass can fight for your legal rights. To schedule a free consultation, contact us online or call today at 856-751-5505. With office locations in Marlton and Northfield, New Jersey, we proudly serve clients in the surrounding areas.