5 years ago
What's supposed to be a joyous occasion is turning disastrous for too many working women.
They find out they are expecting but what happens at work is not at all what they expected.
Stacey Cohan's report
On the streets of our city, they mingle with all the other workers with one critical difference. Women workers may get pregnant, and it appears an increasing number of employers don't like it.
A new report chronicles the progress of working women 40-years after the Civil Rights Act.
But one statistic jumps off the page. There has been a 40% hike in pregnancy discrimination complaints in the last ten years. The problems range from harassment to outright firing.
The report found no one cause for the complaint spike. There are more women working while pregnant and working longer into their pregnancies.
But in 1978, Congress passed a law making it illegal to discriminate against pregnant workers.
So what's happening? One Washington attorney says too many employers seem to think pregnant workers are a liability.
Attorney Linda Correia is getting more and more calls on pregnancy discrimination cases, including one client who says she was fired after telling her boss about the baby.
Although the law is clear, these cases can be tough to prosecute.
But with an economy growing increasingly dependent on female workers, a balance between babies and business must be found.
The good news is that pregnancy discrimination is illegal and many states have passed their own laws to back that up.
If it has happened to you, the best thing to do is call an attorney or file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission.
Click on video to see Stacey Cohan's report.
Written by Stacey Cohan
