Our NYC sexual harassment lawyers have been asked about pregnancy discrimination and sexual harassment.
Does pregnancy discrimination fall under the purview of sexual harassment regulation?
The answer is not exactly. Both pregnancy discrimination and sexual harassment are considered forms of sex discrimination but are different legal concepts governed by various city, state, and federal laws.
What is pregnancy discrimination?
Pregnancy discrimination is defined as the unfavorable treatment of job applicants or employees because of pregnancy, childbirth or medical conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) forbids discrimination against an employee or applicant on the basis of pregnancy. This includes hiring, firing, pay scale and job assignments, promotions, layoffs, and health insurance.
Additionally, the PDA requires employers to offer equal disability coverage to employees suffering from pregnancy-related conditions as they do for those suffering from non-pregnancy related medical conditions.
Lastly, the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 guarantees new parents up to 12 weeks of paid or unpaid leave. The employee must have worked for the company for 12 months prior to taking leave and the employer must have a certain number of employees under their employ.
What is sex discrimination and sexual harassment?
Sex discrimination is defined as the discrimination of a person (usually a woman) on the grounds of sex. In terms of workplace litigations, sex discrimination is held to the same standards as pregnancy discrimination. Employers are forbidden from discrimination against an employee, or potential employee, based on sex in matters concerning pay rates, hiring, firing, training, layoffs, and health insurance.
While most sex discrimination cases involve females, the law can be applied to any act of discrimination of either gender-based exclusively on sex.
Both sexual harassment and pregnancy discrimination fall under the umbrella of sex discrimination regulations but are unrelated to each other.
If you believe you have been the victim of pregnancy based discrimination, or any form of sex discrimination, contact, and NYC sexual harassment lawyer to learn what your rights are.
The Derek Smith Law Group, PLLC handles a multitude of cases that involve sexual harassment in Manhattan and the greater New York City area. For further information, please feel free to call us at 800-807-2209 for a free consultation or email.
