Pregnancy Discrimination Lawyers in Naperville

Helping Residents of Chicago and Throughout Illinois Protect Their Right to Work While Pregnant

It is illegal to fire someone because they are pregnant. The tougher issue is showing that the termination was actually because of the pregnancy. Sometimes employers will make up a reason because they know that it is illegal to fire someone because they are pregnant.

Furthermore, women who are pregnant cannot be adversely affected by work policies based on their pregnancy, childbirth, or associated conditions.

Pregnancy discrimination may occur in various situations, including:

• Hiring
• Firing
• Wages
• Job assignments
• Promotions
• Training
• Benefits

Request your complimentary case review with one of our Naperville lawyers by calling (630) 364-4061 today.

What Does Illinois Do to Discourage Pregnancy Discrimination?

Employers may not implement policies that are outright discriminatory against pregnant women. An employer may not discharge or refuse to hire or promote a woman because she is pregnant. However, an employer is further prohibited from implementing policies that discriminate against pregnant women even if those policies benefit the employee. For example, employers may not establish mandatory maternity leave that is unrelated to the employee’s ability to work and employers may not prohibit the employee from returning to work for a predetermined period following childbirth.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) has deemed pregnancy discrimination a growing problem. As such, the EEOC recently issued guidance on pregnancy discrimination in the workplace that requires “pregnant employees to be treated the same as non-pregnant employees,” and requires accommodations to be provided to pregnant employees that is of equal accommodations provided to non-pregnant employees.

Thus, because a pregnant female employee must be treated just as another temporarily disabled employee would be treated, an employer must make reasonable accommodations to allow the employee to perform modified job duties or an alternative work assignment. If neither a modification of job duties or an alternative work assignment is not sufficient, the employer may need to allow the employee to take disability leave or unpaid leave as it would for other employees. Aside from the aforementioned, the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) adds additional protections to the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.

In particular, the FMLA provides for additional rights for break times when nursing and allows pregnant employees who meet certain conditions to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave during a 12-month period for:

• Childbirth
• Adoption
• Serious health conditions
• Taking care of a sick child or family member

It is ultimately unlawful for an employer to differentiate between pregnancy related and other disabilities. Employees who are or were pregnant and feel they are being or have been discriminated against due to their pregnancy should discuss their circumstances with an attorney. Our firm can help employees investigate the merits of their case, investigate whether discrimination has occurred.