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Pregnancy & COVID-19: Know Your Rights in the Workplace!

April 30, 2020 by Bethanie Ryan

Did you know that women, and disproportionately women of color, are on the front lines of this crisis? 

According to the Center for Economic Policy and Research, nearly two-thirds of frontline workers are women and people of color, who are overrepresented in industries such as: 

  • building custodians/housekeeping (90.7% female, 69.8% people of color),
  • child care workers (95% female, 44.8% POC), 
  • home health care services (87.5% female, 53% POC), 
  • nursing care facilities (84.2% female, 44.6% POC), 
  • and cashiers (71.8% female, 44.6% POC)!

We know these workers are at risk, but what if they are pregnant? Do they have any rights during this uncharted time of a global pandemic?

The good news is: All of the protections for pregnant workers still exist! 

Additionally, there are some health considerations pregnant workers can also access.

Generally speaking, laws are broken into either federal or state legislation.

Relevant federal laws include the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). How does each law help?

ADA: If you need accommodations due to a pregnancy related impairment, the ADA protects you. Examples of this can include, but is not limited to: gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, and heart abnormalities. Just being pregnant does not protect you under this act, but having any related pregnancy complications can. That means you are entitled to reasonable accommodations based on your doctor’s recommendations! This can include being transferred to different duties, teleworking, or working behind the scenes, instead of with the public.

PDA: The Pregnancy Discrimination Act assures that all workers are treated the same, regardless of pregnancy status. The actions taken either for or against a pregnant worker cannot be solely based on her pregnancy. This is to help protect situations where a woman may be fired/laid off/let go simply because she is pregnant but other workers get to stay.

Please Note: 29 states have state-level laws that are called Pregnant Workers Fairness Laws, and these tend to complement the federal PDA. Under the state laws, they go one step further and say not only can you not terminate/lay off a pregnant worker, but reasonable accommodations should also be available, such as added restroom breaks, lactation time, reducing lifting heavy weight, etc.

FMLA: The Family and Medical Leave Act is what protects workers from losing their jobs (but does not pay them) while they take time off to care for a family/medical situation.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act was put in place to augment the FMLA when that family or medical situation relates to COVID-19. If you need to take time off specifically due to a COVID-19 diagnosis or symptoms for yourself or a family member, or if your child’s school or day care was closed due to COVID-19. This is 80 hours of paid leave, but this law is only in effect through the 2020 calendar year. Receiving this type of pandemic assistance may not affect your FMLA, so you could still use that later or in conjunction with it.

It is important as a pregnant worker to stay in close contact with your supervisor or company’s HR department. They are the ones who implement any accommodations and answer company-specific questions. Keep in mind the law sets in motion an interactive, conversational process between the worker and company. Ideally, each situation is individualized.

If you find that you are not being treated fairly, or the conversation is not happening, you can then contact your local Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

The source for this information and more details about these laws can be found at A Better Balance.

You and your unborn child have a right to health!

By Joyce McCauley-Benner

Filed Under: Know Your Rights at Work, Work Tagged With: Coronavirus, COVID-19, employee rights, pregnancy, pregnancy rights

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Check out "Learn the Basics of Unemployment Benefi Check out "Learn the Basics of Unemployment Benefits," courtesy of Women Deserve Better Expert and legal aid attorney Susan Schoppa.
https://www.womendeservebetter.com/learn-the-basics-of...

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A woman out of work recently sent us the following A woman out of work recently sent us the following email. We wanted to share her thoughts with you:
The most common feelings I experience as an unemployed job seeker: 
1. Rejection/Sorrow. Something is wrong with me… because it cannot be that I don't have more than the required training or education or experience... so it must be me.
2. Anxiety from inadequacy of effort. Something would come along if I just tried harder (more than daily searches, weekly job clubs, outreaches on LinkedIn, etc.).
3. Aloneness. Other people with fewer skills, less education and experience… are getting jobs. They won't understand how alone I am in this. Other people must have a lot of resources to not have to work for this long, and I am barely making it and can't afford things now. I am alone in this.
4. Hopelessness. Scores of applications and letters to employers have gone unanswered for weeks and now months. What's the use?
5. Blaming myself and/or self-doubt. Why didn't I see the writing on the wall and find something while I still had a job? I guess I really am as stupid as these employers think I am.
6. Confusion. I am now out of my routine, so things don't fall into place like they once did. Am I getting dementia? Is this normal?
7. Anger. If my employer thought I was so great to give me a very good review several years in a row, why haven't they told me of other available jobs after this one ended? Shame on them!
8. Embarrassment. People may think I lost my job because I was a marginal or lazy employee. They don't know how hard I worked, and that the termination was due to issues not of my doing. They may see me as someone who deserved this.
9. Fear. What if I can't find a job in time before we lose our place to live?
10. Happiness. It can be a good thing to start over sometimes.
Have you ever felt like this woman? Please know that there is help. Check out our latest article on Women Deserve Better, "Find Help When You Can’t Find a Job":
https://www.womendeservebetter.com/find-help-when-

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Are you struggling to pay your rent or mortgage? A Are you struggling to pay your rent or mortgage? Are you worried about losing your home? Here is some information about what could happen if you can't pay all of your rent or mortgage, courtesy of Women Deserve Better Expert and legal aid attorney Susan Schoppa.

www.womendeservebetter.com/how-to-find-legal-help-for-evictions-and-foreclosures 

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