What to Expect When You're Expecting and After the Birth of Your Child at Work
According to the Department of Labor, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, which amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e et seq., prohibits discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.
Read DOL PolicyPregnancy and Labor: An Overview of Federal Laws and Protecting Pregnancy Workers
Several different federal laws protect workers from discrimination based on pregnancy. The oldest of these, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), generally protects job applicants and employees from adverse action—for example, firing, demotion, refusal to hire, or forced leave—because of pregnancy or related conditions. The PDA also addresses harassment based on pregnancy and bans retaliation against workers for making complaints about pregnancy discrimination. Pregnancy-related conditions can include fertility treatments, medical complications, delivery, postpartum conditions, and lactation. The PDA was enacted as an amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects against sex discrimination (as well as certain other forms of discrimination) in employment.
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), passed in 2022 and effective June 27, 2023, mandates additional protections for pregnant workers. Modeled on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), it requires employers to modify workplace conditions where needed to accommodate pregnancy-related conditions as long as an accommodation is reasonable and does not present an undue hardship to the employer.
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