40 Years & Beyond
October 31, 2018 marked the 40th anniversary of the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act, a law we hoped would end pregnancy discrimination. As this timeline shows, the law has been transformative in many respects. But although employers can no longer deny women jobs because they are pregnant, unfortunately, pregnancy discrimination is shockingly still prevalent in American workplaces.
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act does not go far enough. That’s why A Better Balance has been working tirelessly to pass the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act in Congress and similar laws throughout the country. Today, 27 states and 5 cities have passed—often with bipartisan support—strong protections for pregnant workers. These laws are crystal clear: when a pregnant worker needs an accommodation, employers must work with them, instead of pushing them out, unless it would be an undue hardship. It is time for Congress to finish the job they started four decades ago and pass the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Read more about our case for the federal PWFA in our May 2019 report, “Long Overdue.”
Call our free hotline at 1-833-NEED-ABB for information about your rights at work. The information provided here or in response to a Hotline inquiry does not constitute legal advice and does not establish an attorney-client relationship. If ABB chooses to represent you, then a retainer will be signed setting out the scope of the representation.
