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What does pregnancy discrimination look like?

On Behalf of | Jul 1, 2020 | Employment Law for Employees |

New York workers deserve the safest working environment. You deserve to have a workplace where you are free of any kind of harassment. Unfortunately, pregnant women still face a disproportionate amount of harassment at work. 

Even worse, it is often hard to tell if you are facing discrimination. Pregnancy discrimination is one of the hardest types to notice. 

Identifying pregnancy discrimination 

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission examines pregnancy discrimination at the workplace. Of course, pregnancy discrimination is illegal. But this does not stop everyone. In some cases, it only forces them to use sneakier tactics. 

For example, a common way to discriminate against a pregnant worker is by “icing them out”. This is an act where a group of workers and even employers will ignore a pregnant employee. People can do this subtly. They can also do this outright. It is the subtle type that is hardest to identify. 

How people may try to disguise pregnancy discrimination 

How is it done in a subtle way? Sometimes, discriminatory coworkers may disguise their actions as “helping” you. For example, they may not invite you to a company dinner. Their excuse could claim that they do not want you feeling left out because you cannot drink with them. An employer may start to assign you less work. Their excuse could involve trying to give you a lighter workload to lower your stress levels. 

You may have suspicions of coworkers or employers who do this type of thing. Watch their actions and how they react to you. If you feel it is suspicious, you may want to look into it. The people at your workplace may not have your best interest in mind.