Pregnancy/Pregnancy Loss

Staying healthy at work while you are pregnant is sometimes challenging: you may be dealing with morning sickness, back pain, or doctor’s appointments every few weeks. For women who have suffered a miscarriage, you may need time off for recovery. U.S., Connecticut, and local laws can help you stay healthy at work, give you time off when you need it, and protect you from pregnancy discrimination.

• The Pregnancy Discrimination Act makes it illegal for any employer in the U.S. with 15 or more workers to treat employees unfairly because they are pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or have experienced a pregnancy loss. That means:
  • Your boss can’t fire you or cut your hours when she finds out that you’re pregnant or trying to get pregnant—you have the right to keep working as long as you can still do your job. You also have the right to be free from harassment at work because you are pregnant.
  • You cannot be asked about your pregnancy or plans to have children in a job interview.
  • Your employer can’t treat you differently from other workers just because you are pregnant or have had a miscarriage. The Supreme Court just decided a case where they clarified what this means. The Court said that employers may not put a “significant burden” on pregnant employees. How do you know what’s a significant burden? Start looking around at how your employer treats other non-pregnant employees who have needed an accommodation at work. For example, does your employer have a policy of giving light duty only to those with on-the-job injuries? Or did they have no problem helping out folks with non-pregnancy related disabilities, but sent all the pregnant women out onto unpaid leave? If so, this could be evidence of pregnancy discrimination. Since we are still waiting for further clarification of how this standard works, it’s best to collect all the evidence you can (policies, employee handbooks or manuals, digging around to find out how others have been treated) and to discuss your particular situation with an attorney.
• The Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act (CFEPA) also bans pregnancy discrimination, and covers workplaces with 3 or more employees.
• Employers in Connecticut may not ask any job applicant or employee about their childbearing age, plans to become pregnant, pregnancy, birth control methods, reproductive system functioning, or family responsibilities, unless this information is directly related to a qualification for the job.

If you need changes at work to stay healthy on the job, the laws below can help. In addition, click the green button to learn how to talk with your boss about your pregnancy and request an accommodation if you need one.

• If you work for, or are applying to work for, an employer with three or more employees, your employer must provide you reasonable accommodations due to your pregnancy, childbirth, or related conditions, including the need to express milk at work. Employers may only deny your request for a reasonable accommodation if the accommodation would be very difficult or expensive (an “undue hardship”) for them.
  • Reasonable accommodations, include, but are not limited to, permission to sit while working, taking longer or more frequent breaks, job restructuring, light duty assignments, time off to recover from childbirth, temporary transfer to a less strenuous or hazardous work, or break time and appropriate facilities to express breast milk.
  • You also cannot be forced to take leave if an accommodation can be provided, or be required to accept an accommodation if it is unnecessary to perform the “essential duties” of your job.
  • For more information about this law, see here or  here.

• If you are not covered by Connecticut’s “reasonable accommodations” law (for example, if you work out of state), there is also the Americans with Disabilities Act which makes it illegal for employers in the U.S. with 15 or more employees to discriminate against disabled workers.  Some pregnancy-related conditions, such as preeclampsia or gestational diabetes, are considered disabilities under the law. This means:
  • Your boss cannot fire you, refuse to give you a promotion, or harass you because you have a pregnancy-related disability.
  • If you have a pregnancy-related disability, your boss cannot refuse to give you small changes at work that you need to stay healthy, like breaks to take medication, temporary relief from heavy lifting, or a stool to sit on during your shift. These changes are called “reasonable accommodations” and are available as long as you can still complete the basic duties of your job with those changes.  Your boss does not have to give you an accommodation that would be very difficult or expensive, like building a whole new office.
  • Although pregnancy, by itself, is not considered a “disability,” some conditions of pregnancy may be disabilities so check with a lawyer to see whether you have a right to an accommodation at work.
• The Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act (CFEPA) also bans disability discrimination at workplaces with 3 or more employees.
• If your workplace has 3 or more employees, your boss cannot refuse to grant you a reasonable Leave of Absence if you are disabled from pregnancy. You are entitled to compensation under any disability plan during this leave, and may return to your same or an equivalent job.
• If you are covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act or Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Act, you have the right to take time off during pregnancy or after experiencing a miscarriage without losing your job. See the “Leaving Work for Childbirth and Bonding” section under the next tab for more information or see this guide to your workplace rights around miscarriage.

Leaving Work for Childbirth & Bonding

The U.S. is one of the only countries in the world with no law guaranteeing women the right to paid leave for childbirth. However, you may have the right to take unpaid leave for childbirth and return to your job.

The law may protect your job while you are taking leave after childbirth or adoption.

• If you are covered, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows you to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off of work per year for a family health emergency or to take care of a new baby— without losing your job (or your health insurance, if you have it).
  • Only about half of all private sector workers in the U.S. are covered by the law! You must 1) work for the government or a company with 50 or more employees within 75 miles of your worksite and 2) have worked with your employer for at least 1 year and 3) have worked at least 1,250 hours in the year before taking leave.
  • If you are covered, you can use the 12 weeks to care for your own health (including pregnancy), to care for a new child after birth, adoption, or foster placement, or to care for a seriously ill family member. Remember that you only get 12 weeks a year in total—if you take time off before you give birth for your own health needs, you’ll have less time afterward to spend with your baby.
  • Before giving birth, you may use your leave an hour or day at a time—such as by taking a day off per week to go to the doctor— rather than all at once. Your employer must approve, however, if you want to use leave time in smaller chunks to bond with your baby.
  • While you are on leave, you have the right to keep your benefits. When you return to work, you have the right to return to the same or a similar job.
  • If you are in the top 10% of highest-paid workers in your company, different rules apply.
• The Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Act is similar to the FMLA, but may provide you with a longer period of leave. If you are eligible, you can take 16 weeks of leave during a 2-year period (rather than just 12 weeks in a 1-year period) for a birth or adoption or to care for a spouse (including same-sex spouses), child, or parent with a serious health condition or for your own serious health condition. To be eligible you must 1) work for an employer with 75 or more employees, 2) have worked for your employer for 12 months and 3) have worked for a total of 1,000 hours in those 12 months (note that FMLA requires 1,250 hours, so you may be covered by the Connecticut law even if you are not eligible for FMLA). Be sure to look up the specific requirements of this law if you are interested in intermittent leave or a reduced schedule.
• If your boss treats workers who take time off for childbirth differently from workers who take time off for other medical treatments (for example, she gives most workers 2 weeks off for surgery but only 1 week for childbirth), this could be illegal under the national Pregnancy Discrimination Act and Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act. Call A Better Balance if you think you are being treated unfairly.

Returning to Work: Recovery, Nursing, and Sick Time

When you return to work as a new parent, you may still need a few extra breaks to pump breastmilk or time off to care for your baby when he’s sick. There are a few laws that can help you get back to work safely and still care for your family.

• If you are disabled for a period of time after childbirth, the Americans with Disabilities Act and Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act, discussed in the “While You’re Pregnant” tab, may apply.
  • If so, you may be able to get an accommodation at work, such as light duty, while you recover.

• If you work in Connecticut, you have the right to Breastfeed or Pump at Work during your regular breaks, and your employer must make reasonable efforts to provide a private area (other than a toilet stall) where you can pump. Your employer cannot discriminate against you for expressing milk at work.
• Rights for breastfeeding moms are strong in Connecticut, but national laws may also protect you (for example, if you work outside Connecticut):
  • The Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) gives some U.S. workers the right to take unpaid breaks at work to pump milk, and requires some employers to find a clean, private place that’s not a bathroom for employees to pump milk. This law only applies to workers and employers who are covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)— the law that sets minimum wage and overtime requirements.
• It may be illegal under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act for your boss to punish or discriminate against you because you are lactating.
• Under Connecticut law, you also have the right to Breastfeed Your Child in any public location.
• For more information about your nursing rights, click here.

As a new parent, you may face discrimination at work or have problems taking time off when you or your baby is sick. These laws can help you balance your job and caring for your family.

• If you are covered by the FMLA or Connecticut Family and Medical Leave Act, you have the right to take time off to care for a seriously ill family member. See the “Leaving Work” tab for more information on these laws.
• If your workplace has 50 or more employees, you may have the right to take 40 hours of accrued Paid Sick Time per year. This time can be used for a your own, or a spouse or child’s, medical needs, including preventative care, or for “safe time” if you are a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Be sure to check carefully to see whether you are covered by this law; a lot of workers are not included.
• If your workplace has 75 or more employees, you may have the right to use up to two weeks of your sick time to Care for a Family Member. You can use this time to care for a child, spouse, or parent with a serious health condition, or for a birth or adoption. Be sure to check carefully to see whether you are covered by this law; some workers are not included. If you do not have any sick time, this law does not give you a right to sick time.
• You can read more about the paid sick time laws here.
• In Connecticut, if you lose your job because you need to take care of a sick or disabled spouse, child, or parent, you may still be able to get Unemployment Insurance.
• As mentioned earlier, employers aren’t allowed to ask any job applicant or employee about their family responsibilities, unless it is information directly related to a qualification for the job.
• The Americans with Disabilities Act also bans unfair treatment of workers based on their relationship with a disabled person. For example, your boss can’t cut your hours because he thinks you can’t work as hard because you have a child with asthma. However this law does not give relatives of a disabled person the right to accommodations, such as a schedule change, to help them provide care.