Giving birth and bringing froth new blood to join this world is the greatest gift from our maker. Pregnancy is the happiest moment a married couple can ever experience in a life time. But sadly outside the peripheries of the family especially in her working place, it is not the same. For a female who chooses to work while she is pregnant needs a lot of dedication to her job. But will the employer understand that fact and notice the dedication part? Well in most cases the answer is negative which is sad but true, even though there’s been an act regulated by the government which was termed as the Pregnancy discrimination Act nothing much has changed. If company doesn’t offer a paid maternity leave then a pregnant woman has got no choice except going to work to make ends meet. Instead of changing thins for the better things have turned out to be worse, Pregnancy discrimination is till in existence in the present times we live in. The question is what is the accurate way to treat a pregnant employee or job applicant to avoid liability for pregnancy discrimination? The answer is short to that question that covers the entire topic, just treat them exactly like you would an applicant or employee with any other health condition that may affect their job performance and the necessity of their having to take some time off from world.
Prior to the Congress passed Pregnancy Discrimination Act way back in 1978, it was quite common for employers to terminate a woman who became pregnant, because the employer has a mindset that she could no longer do the job effectively or maybe they think it is too dangerous for her to continue in the job or even take into consideration that clients or customers prefer to deal with non-pregnant employees, and other such reasons, It is likely for employers to take pregnancy as a sign that a woman isn’t adequate or committed to her job or that she wouldn’t be capable to stay late or engross in other job-related activities that normal employees are expected to perform. Subsequently, the employer will not give her the same promotion, training, and other opportunities given to male employees with similar qualifications.
These actions became unlawful in 1978 – although in some workplaces there may still be managers making unlawful decisions based on such an archaic mindset. The quantity of pregnancy-related discrimination charges according to reports jumped by 35% in the past few decade1 in five perspective charges leveled by women is associated with pregnancy. Unfortunately Pregnancy discrimination persists even in the 21st century workplace, depriving women of the means to support themselves and their families financially. It is unto the common mass now, either you spend your whole life waiting for some thunderbolt to come or you can spend your whole lives waiting for some justice to be done, unless you make your own. While panelists offered numerous instances of discrimination: harassment and hostility on the part of employers, decreased hours, forced unpaid leave. But did it really work out?