Pregnancy discrimination still exists in the American workforce. Various studies have shown that pregnant women experience discrimination in many forms. One study found that one in five mothers reported experiencing pregnancy discrimination in the workplace. As per the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) records, the agency received 2,729 charges alleging violations of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) in fiscal year 2024, which was the law’s first full year of enforcement. 
It is unfair to terminate the work of a female employee, reduce her wages, or impede her career development just because she is pregnant. Employers who discriminate in any way against a pregnant woman should be aware of the US federal laws and principles that penalize such acts. These employment laws differ at the state level. Residents in California, including Los Angeles, should know that state law prevents any workplace with a total of five or more workers from showing bias against its workforce over pregnancy and childbirth. The local statute in the state implements appropriate measures, and pregnancy disability leave is enforced when necessary.
According to a Los Angeles pregnancy discrimination lawyer, workers who have been terminated for being pregnant are entitled to file a claim against their employer for discrimination. Here is the overview of workplace pregnancy discrimination and what steps you should take to protect your rights.
The Legal Framework, in Brief
There are numerous laws in the US that provide protection to pregnant women. Among these laws is the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which is an amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that defines sexual discrimination as discrimination related to pregnancy. The next one is the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, passed decades later. This law compels employers to make reasonable adjustments for impediments associated with pregnancy. In the process of making the statute, the objective for the law was to address the issue of the Americans with Disabilities Act not classifying pregnancy as a disability. This exclusion leaves pregnant women with no other protection but non-discrimination.
Over 30 states and localities have already passed rules that go beyond the federal baseline, requiring employers to provide pregnancy-related workplace accommodations. Pursuant to these legal policies, what a person must do and what they can expect can change based on where they work.
What Counts as a Reasonable Accommodation
Some people expect that the accommodations provided to pregnant women will be challenging, but they may include simple changes to the workplace. A reasonable accommodation may be in the form of providing drinking water close to the sitting area or allowing pregnant workers to stretch from time to time. Giving additional short breaks is another form of accommodation to a pregnant worker. A job applicant cannot be turned down just because she needs a pregnancy-related accommodation. If another accommodation would let the employee keep doing her job, the employer shouldn’t push her toward taking leave instead.
Building Compliant Policies as an Employer
For employers, the challenge in practice is to develop procedures that prevent accommodation requests from becoming complaints. This means training supervisors to recognize when an employee is making a request for reasonable accommodation, even if the employee does not use that specific terminology, documenting the interactive process when such a request is made, and updating leave and accommodation policies to clarify that an employee’s impairment does not necessarily have to be considered an ADA disability.
Investigations into discrimination complaints, such as pregnancy discrimination, are most appropriate when someone with no relationship to the involved parties conducts them.
Recognizing and Responding to Discrimination as an Employee
For employees, pregnancy discrimination often shows up in less obvious ways than an outright termination. Red flags may be seen when one is excluded from meetings and communications after announcing the pregnancy, when one misses out on a promotion despite being more qualified than the coworker who got the promotion, or if one receives negative performance reviews right after making the employer aware of the pregnancy.
When an employee believes that she has been subjected to pregnancy discrimination, she has the choice of filing a charge with the EEOC and a state civil rights commission (in states where there is one). Documenting is important in this case. The affected employee should gather re-disclosure and post-disclosure performance reviews, accommodation requests and responses to such requests, and any documentation that mentions pregnancy explicitly to make the case much stronger.
Employers who have established procedures for accommodations will save themselves from confusion and conflict, while employees who know their legal rights will be able to notice violations of those rights.
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