Pregnant New Jersey women are protected from employment discrimination by several federal laws. Among them are the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act. However, despite the fact that treating a worker unfairly because she is pregnant is very clearly illegal, a number of employers continue to practice pregnancy discrimination routinely.

Pregnancy discrimination claims are surfacing so frequently that another bill to provide rights to pregnant workers has been reintroduced in Congress this year. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act would provide yet another clear rule against pregnancy discrimination. If it were to become law, it would force employers to provide accommodations to pregnant workers.

Whether the new bill is necessary has been up for some debate. Many say that employers are already required to offer accommodations to pregnant women under existing laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, but that such provisions are often ignored or misinterpreted.

It remains to be seen whether additional anti-pregnancy discrimination laws will be enacted or whether existing laws will become more thoroughly enforced. What is clear is that something should be done to combat workplace pregnancy discrimination in this country; a recent report found that it has become common for pregnant women to be denied simple accommodations on the job and even fired for making requests.

Women who work in low-wage jobs are most vulnerable to pregnancy discrimination, according to the report published by the National Women’s Law Center and A Better Balance.

Those in low-wage jobs might be discriminated against more frequently because such jobs are more likely to involve physical demands–such as standing on one’s feet all day or heavy lifting.

The report points to many cases where pregnant women in such lines of employment were denied the most reasonable of accommodations. In one case, a pregnant fast-food employee was fired after requesting permission to eat snacks and drink water during breaks. In another case, a pregnant cashier, who was forced to stand on her feet for as many as 10 hours a day, was placed on unpaid leave when she asked to sit down.

In such situations, one cannot imagine that it would hinder the employer to offer a bit of flexibility to pregnant employees. Women should not be forced to make a decision between working and having a child. Pregnancy discrimination is illegal here in New Jersey and throughout the country, and those who have been discriminated against may wish to talk to an employment law attorney about holding the employer accountable.

Source: CBS News, “Report: Pregnant workers face routine discrimination,” Stephen Smith, June 18, 2013