Your Rights Under the Family and Medical Leave Act

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for events such as the birth of a child, adoption, foster care, or the care of a pregnant spouse. If a pregnant employee is unable to work because of their pregnancy, the FMLA can protect them and provide the required days off to give birth, recover, travel, conduct counseling, or take care of themselves and the child. The FMLA provides job-protected leave, allowing pregnant employees to take the time they need for themselves and their families.

Your Rights Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

regnant employees are protected from discrimination revolving around their pregnancy by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. This act, amended as the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, prohibits sex and pregnancy discrimination. This includes topics such as current pregnancy, past pregnancies, potential pregnancies, having/choosing an abortion, birth control, and medical conditions revolving around pregnancies. Under this act, pregnant employees cannot be discriminated against in hiring, job assignments, promotions, employee benefits, firing, or other demotion options.

This means that your employer cannot make employment decisions about an employee’s work performance based on the stereotype or assumption concerning the employee’s pregnancy. Also, an employer cannot single out the pregnant employee and use the pregnancy to determine an employee’s ability to work.

Your Rights Under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

The most recent protection order passed for pregnant employees is the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). This is a federal law that requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with known limitations around pregnancy, childbirth, or medical-related conditions. The limitations can be physical or mental conditions related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. This includes employees who are postpartum and pumping. 

Employees might need to offer flexible scheduling, a change to food and drink policies, telework, a change in uniform, possible leave for medical appointments, or a change in work environments. This act ensures that pregnant employees are able to work at their best with appropriate accommodations being made.

Your Rights under the Pump Act

Then, the Fair Labor Standards Act enacted the PUMP Act, ensuring that nursing mothers are entitled to reasonable break times and private pumping areas up to one year after birth.

Nursing mothers are entitled to a reasonable break time and private space to pump at work for up to one year after their child’s birth. 

The employer must provide a space that is functional for pumping milk, shield from view, free from intrusion, and available as needed, which is NOT a bathroom. 

This law has expanded to include more nursing employees, including agricultural workers, nurses, teachers, truck and taxi drivers, home care workers and managers. 

Your Rights under the MHRA

The Missouri Human Rights Act (MHRA) does not have specific regulations as federal law has. However, the MHRA still has protections for pregnant employees protected under sex discrimination laws and disability discrimination laws. 

The MHRA prohibits the discrimination against pregnant women and require employers to treat pregnant related limitations just as they would any other temporary medical condition. 

Under the MHRA, employers are required to make reasonable accommodation to the known limitation of an employee. The only requirement is that the individual have any physical or mental impairment which substantially limits major life activities.

The Missouri Code of State Regulations states, “[d]isabilities caused or contributed to by pregnancy, miscarriage, legal abortion, childbirth and recovery are, for all job-related purposes, temporary disabilities and should be treated as such under any health or temporary disability insurance or sick leave plan available in connection with employment.” Mo. Code Regs. tit. 8 § 60-3.040(16)(A). Furthermore, “[w]ritten or unwritten employment policies and practices involving matters such as the commencement and duration of leave, the availability of extensions, the accrual of seniority and other benefits and privileges, reinstatement and payment under any health or temporary disability insurance or sick leave, plan, formal or informal, shall be applied to disability due to pregnancy or childbirth on the same terms and conditions as they are applied to other temporary disabilities.” 

This means, pregnant employees are entitled to the accommodations and same rights as those with temporary disabilities.

Returning to Work After Maternity Leave

When returning from maternity leave the employer must reinstate the employee to the same job position or a comparable position with equal pay, benefits, and responsibilities. Reducing hours, cutting pay, or assigning the employee to a less desirable work because the employee took maternity leave may count as retaliation. 

You Are Protected as a Pregnant Employee

These are some of the laws protecting you as a pregnant employee. You might also be protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act, depending on your needs. 

Under the Americans With Disabilities Act, you are protected from all discrimination based on disabilities related to pregnancy, as some pregnancy related conditions may be disabilities under the law. This ensures that any pregnancy-related conditions that are considered to be disabilities are not holding you back and that you are granted reasonable accommodations. 

All of these regulations are in place to ensure that pregnant employees are protected in the workplace during and after the birth of their child. If you have further questions or feel as if your rights have been violated as a pregnant employee, contact the team at Baldwin & Vernon Trial Attorneys.