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Podcast: Stopping Pregnancy Discrimination Before It Starts

Many employers continue to get tripped up with compliance issues involving pregnancy. That's why long-time employment attorney Robin Shea, of Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, joins XpertHR Legal Editor David Weisenfeld on this podcast to discuss pregnancy discrimination pitfalls and how to avoid them.

Light-duty programs are a real trap with pregnant employees, according to Shea. "I'm still seeing employers who offer "make-work" light duty for work-related injuries but do not offer it for anybody else. And that could be a problem under the [Supreme Court's] Young vs. UPS standard," she said. In that case, the employer accommodated employees who were injured on the job but refused to do so for a pregnant employee.

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Shea notes that a common misconception employers have involves what pregnancy really is. "We think of pregnancy as being the nine months of gestation," said Shea. But she points out that the courts have interpreted the Pregnancy Discrimination Act to also cover related conditions, including:

  • Trying to get pregnant;
  • Termination of a pregnancy, such as a miscarriage;
  • Post-partum issues; or
  • Lactation.

Additional Resources

Webinar: Best Ways to Prevent Pregnancy Discrimination

Pregnancy in the Workplace - Supervisor Training

How to Prevent Pregnancy Discrimination

Transcript