Pregnancy Discrimination Attorneys Protecting Mothers’ Rights Throughout Iowa And Nebraska

The United States Supreme Court had previously stated that laws prohibiting sex discrimination did not apply when a woman was discriminated against because of a pregnancy. Ignoring the clear link between being female and being pregnant, the court reasoned that it was not sex discrimination when an employer treated “pregnant people” differently than “non-pregnant people.” In response, Congress passed the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, which made it clear that laws prohibiting discrimination based on sex included pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions.

A pregnant employee who is eligible for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is entitled to up to 12 weeks of protected medical leave for her pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition. Iowa law also guarantees women up to 8 weeks of medical leave for pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions. This can be important information to know, especially if you don’t qualify for FMLA leave because of the size of your employer or the short time you’ve been employed.

Similarly, Nebraska law requires “reasonable accommodations” for pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions, which includes time off work to recover from birth.

Examples Of Pregnancy Discrimination

Discrimination based on pregnancy takes many forms. The following examples are unfortunately common:

• A company refuses to hire you because you’re going to need maternity leave
• Your employer refuses to allow you time off for doctors’ appointments or maternity leave
• Your employer refuses to allow you time to pump – or a private, clean place to do so
• Your boss reassigns your job duties to someone else while you’re on leave and doesn’t give them back to you upon your return

This is not an exhaustive list. If you believe you suffered pregnancy or lactation discrimination, please contact our attorneys to discuss your options.

Breastfeeding And Pumping Rights

The 2010 Affordable Care Act amended the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to require employers to provide “reasonable break time for an employee to express milk for her nursing child for 1 year after the child’s birth each time such employee has need to express the milk.” The frequency of breaks needed to express breast milk as well as the duration of each break can vary from person to person. The amendment’s protections apply to all nonexempt employees covered by the FLSA.

Employers are also required to provide “a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk.”

Employers are not required under the FLSA to pay nursing mothers for breaks taken for the purpose of expressing milk. However, if employers already provide paid breaks, an employee who uses that break time to express milk must be compensated in the same way that other employees are compensated for break time.

Of course, some job duties can be performed at the same time as pumping. If an employee is expressing milk while responding to work emails, she must be paid for this break.

Our Attorneys Respond To Common Pregnancy Discrimination Scenarios

Below, we have included pregnancy discrimination scenarios experienced by clients and how our attorneys would or did respond to them.

Scenario one: “I just found out that an interviewer refused to consider hiring me because I’ve been married two years and don’t have any kids. They think I’m likely to get pregnant soon, and they don’t want to deal with it. Am I protected from pregnancy discrimination even though I’ve never been pregnant?”
Attorney response: Yes. Discriminating against a woman because of her capacity to become pregnant is illegal.

Scenario two: “When I started maternity leave, my boss said I would have to reapply for employment when I was ready to come back to work. Can they do that?”
Attorney response: No. Assuming your plan was to take off 6-8 weeks as recommended by your doctor, you are automatically entitled to return to work after your leave. If you and your employer are covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), you are entitled to take up to 12 weeks off, both for physical recovery and time to bond with your baby.

Scenario three: “My job is strenuous, and at some point my doctor is going to require me to be on light duty due to my pregnancy. My employer routinely provides light-duty work for conditions that are covered by workers comp, but they won’t provide it to me. Is this legal?”
Attorney response: It is definitely wrong and probably illegal. Pregnancy discrimination laws are evolving in this area. We believe they require reasonable accommodations like light duty work.

Scenario four: “I really want to work in construction, and I have some decent experience. I just got a new job, but as soon as they found out I was pregnant, they wanted to move me to an office position. Not only does it pay less, it’s not what I want to do. The company insists it will be safer for me and the baby. Is this allowed?”
Attorney response: Employers are not allowed to consider your pregnancy in making employment decisions – even if they think they’re acting in your best interests. There’s nothing wrong with them offering to move you, but you make the ultimate decision. They can’t force you.

Discuss Your Pregnancy Discrimination Concerns With Our Experienced Attorneys

With offices in Johnston, Iowa, and Omaha, Nebraska, Fiedler Law Firm serves clients throughout both states. To schedule your initial consultation, you can reach out online or call our Johnston, Iowa office at 515-303-8210 or our Omaha, Nebraska office at 402-281-3501.