Know Your Rights – Pregnancy Discrimination
FACT SHEET
April 2011
Enacted in 1978, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act prohibits employers from using pregnancy as a barrier to
job opportunity. The law was a critical step forward for working women. Sadly, more than three decades later,
record numbers of women are facing pregnancy discrimination in the workplace. In fact, complaints have been
on the rise for many years. According to data collected by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
(EEOC), charges of alleged pregnancy discrimination increased by 81 percent between 1992 and 2010.
Have you suffered from pregnancy discrimination? Many women are unfairly treated on the job or
when looking for work because they are pregnant or because an employer thinks they are likely to become
pregnant. Pregnancy discrimination is against the law. If you think that you have been discriminated against
due to pregnancy, ask a lawyer or contact a legal aid office to find out how state and federal laws can help you.
A legal aid office may be able to provide legal services at little or no cost if you cannot afford a private lawyer.
What is Pregnancy Discrimination?
It is illegal for most employers to discriminate against women because of pregnancy, childbirth or conditions
related to pregnancy or childbirth. Doing so constitutes pregnancy discrimination. Federal law prohibits
pregnancy discrimination by employers with 15 or more employees. Many states have additional laws that
prohibit pregnancy discrimination, and provide similar – and in some cases, greater – protections than federal
law.
Federal protection from pregnancy discrimination means that:

You cannot be fired just because you are or may become pregnant.

An employer cannot refuse to hire you simply because you are or may become pregnant.

You cannot be denied a promotion or get demoted just because you are or may become pregnant.

Your employer cannot force you to stop working and take pregnancy leave if you are still willing
and able to work.
Employers must treat pregnant workers equally.
The law also says that employers must treat pregnancy the same way that they treat any other temporary
illness or medical condition. Employers must give pregnant workers the same level of rights and benefits given
to other workers. For example:

If a co-worker breaks a leg while off duty and is given less physically stressful work until he or she
recovers, the employer must also offer a pregnant employee less physically stressful duties while
she is pregnant.

If a co-worker is allowed to take paid sick leave while she or he recovers from knee surgery, then a
pregnant employee also has the right to take paid leave while unable to work because of
pregnancy.
Pregnancy discrimination during the employment process is no exception.
You have the right to be free from pregnancy discrimination both on the job and when looking for work. This
right applies equally to public assistance recipients who are employed through certain types of work programs,
such as a workfare program, or who are placed in jobs by job placement agencies or state welfare offices.
Consult with a legal aid office for help if needed.
What Can You Do if You Experience Discrimination?
If you think that you are the victim of pregnancy discrimination:

Write down what happened. Include when and where it happened, what was said and who said it.

Discuss the problem with your supervisor or someone in your personnel or human resources department.
Ask about your company’s policy for people who have temporary disabilities or those who become sick for
a longer period of time. If pregnancy is treated differently than other temporary disabilities, then your
employer is engaging in pregnancy discrimination. If you receive public assistance, you may want to talk to
your caseworker.

Talk to co-workers to find out how other pregnant workers have been treated. If other women have been
victims of pregnancy discrimination, you may be able to offer each other support and work together to end
the problem.

File a formal complaint through your employer. If you are represented by a union, file a complaint
through its grievance process. Otherwise, talk to someone in the personnel or human resources
department at your job. If you are a public assistance recipient, the program may have its own system for
filing discrimination complaints. Check with your caseworker.

Act now. If you wait too long, you could lose the right to file a charge. You can file a charge with the EEOC
or your state’s civil rights agency or fair employment office. In most cases, the charge must be filed no
more than 180 days after the discrimination occurred. You may also be able to file a lawsuit in court. Talk
to a lawyer or contact a legal aid office to find out more about your options.
You may have additional rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
The FMLA is a federal law that gives you the right to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave from your job to care
for a newborn baby, a newly-adopted child or a foster child. When you are ready to return to work, you have a
right to a job that is the same or equivalent to your previous one. The law applies only to those who meet
certain requirements: your employer must have at least 50 employees and you must have worked for your
employer for at least 12 months, and for 1,250 hours, in one year (roughly 25 hours per week).
For more information on FMLA leave, contact the U.S. Department of Labor at 1-866-487-2365, 1-866-4879243, or 1-877-889-5627 (TTY). The National Partnership’s Guide to the FMLA: Questions and
Answers might also be helpful. Find it at www.nationalpartnership.org/FMLAguide.
If you need more assistance, don’t hesitate to contact an expert.
If you have additional questions or need more help, contact your local Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission or local fair employment office. The EEOC’s nationwide toll-free numbers are 1-800-669-4000 or
1-800-669-6820 (TDD). Your local fair employment office should be listed in the state or local government
section of your phonebook under “Human Rights” or “Civil Rights.” A legal aid office or community
organization may also be able to help you, or help you find someone who can. No matter which of these groups
you reach out to, it is important to take action quickly.
More information about discrimination and other employment barriers women face is available at
www.nationalpartnership.org.
The National Partnership for Women & Families is a non-profit, non-partisan advocacy group dedicated to promoting
fairness in the workplace, access to quality health care and policies that help women and men meet the dual
demands of work and family. More information is available at www.nationalpartnership.org.
© 2011 National Partnership for Women & Families
All rights reserved.
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