Warning: Getting Pregnant May Get You Fired!

From our friends at 9 to 5.

In 2012, getting pregnant can still cost you your job. Because of loopholes between discrimination and disability laws, employers are refusing to accommodate even simple requests that help workers maintain a healthy pregnancy.

Here are three startling examples of women who were fired for doing what was best for their pregnancies: 

• A retail sales associate in Salina, Kansas was fired for drinking water while working because it violated store policy. 
• A nursing home activities director in Valparaiso, Indiana lost her job because she could no longer lift heavy tables, an activity that took up less than 10 minutes of her workday and with which her coworkers routinely volunteered to assist. 
• A pregnant truck driver in Tennessee was instructed by her obstetrician not to lift more than 20 pounds and sought light duty work. Her employer terminated her, as it made such modifications only to those injured on the job. 

Sounds crazy, right? Unfortunately, thousands of pregnant women are forced to choose between losing their jobs (or taking unpaid leave) and endangering their pregnancies, when just a few small workplace accommodations are all that's needed. We can do better for pregnant workers.

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act would promote nondiscrimination by ensuring that pregnant workers are not forced out of their jobs unnecessarily or denied reasonable job modifications that would allow them to continue working and supporting their families.


Call your Representative today at 202-224-3121 and ask him or her to co-sponsor the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act!