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Can I Get Help Performing My Job Because I Am Pregnant? I Need The Top Gender Discrimination Lawyer And Best Employment Attorney In Ohio!

On Behalf of | Aug 23, 2016 | Employment Discrimination, Gender Discrimination, Pregnancy Discrimination & Maternity Rights |

Best Ohio Pregnancy Discrimination Attorney Answer: Does my boss need to give me help if my doctor tells me that I need to limit some of the tasks I usually perform at work because I’m pregnant? Does my employer have to honor lifting restrictions because of my pregnancy? How do I get accommodations at work because I’m pregnant?

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At Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm, our employment lawyers routinely receive calls and questions from employees that are receiving pushback from their employers because of their pregnancy. Unfortunately, all too often we see employers that go out of their way to treat pregnant employees differently and not allow pregnant employees the opportunity to work and earn a wage until the employee chooses when she goes on leave. Often times, the employers puts the pregnant employee through undue stress by denying work restrictions, forcing the employee on early leave and even going so far as to get rid of the pregnant employee because the employer doesn’t want to the deal with the “burden” of accommodating and supporting a pregnant employee. This behavior that Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm deals with on a nearly daily basis is patently illegal and employers need to understand that pregnant employees should never be singled out or treated differently because of the fact that they are pregnant.

As you have previously read in our pregnancy and maternity rights blog posts, pregnant women are protected under the law from their employer demoting, terminating or taking other action against them on the basis of their pregnancy. (See Can My Boss Discriminate Against Me When I Get Pregnant?; Pregnancy And Maternity Discrimination Excuses That Have Failed!; My Boss Fired Me Because I’m Pregnant! – Call The Right Attorney; Lawyer: Can I Be Sent Home From Work Because I’m Pregnant?; and Pregnancy Discrimination: Employers Just Can’t Help Themselves). Ohio pregnant women are specifically protected under the law from their employer taking any adverse action against them on the basis of their pregnancy. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, which amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and Ohio Fair Employment Practice Law (Ohio R.C. § 4112.01et seq.) make discriminating against pregnant women an unlawful form of gender discrimination. Pregnant employees are also offered protection by taking twelve weeks of unpaid leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”).

How do I get accommodations from my job when I get pregnant? My boss won’t honor my lifting restrictions accommodation even though I gave him a note from my doctor.

However, as our employment discrimination lawyers stated before, employers sometimes have a difficult time abiding by the clear laws that make pregnancy discrimination illegal. In fact, one company that operates mostly in Tennessee, but also in Ohio, learned the hard way that treating pregnant employees differently on account of their pregnancy will cost you a good chunk of money. First Call Ambulance Service, LLC, a Nashville-based medical transport company, ran into a big legal issue when it started to deny a pregnant employee the chance to work and put her on unpaid leave. The emergency technician informed First Call that she was pregnant and presented a note from her doctor stating that she was restricted lifting patients that weighed over 200 pounds without assistance.

Instead of honoring the employee’s reasonable and simple accommodation request, First Call took the position that it could simply deny the request even though it had a track record of honoring similar requests from non-pregnant employees. First Call removed the pregnant employee from the schedule, told the employee she could not work because of her pregnancy, and proceeded to place her unpaid leave. First Call was caught red-handed when at the same time they placed the pregnant employee on unpaid leave, it allowed a non-pregnant employee to accommodate a lifting issue by using a power cot to lift patients. This was clear discrimination by First Call because they refused to accommodate a pregnant employee and granted the same accommodation for an employee that was not pregnant.

This discriminatory conduct cost First Call $55,000 when it settled the pregnancy discrimination claim by the employee and also agreed to put in place new measures to prevent future pregnancy discrimination such as updated policies on pregnancy accommodations and new training measures for all employees. This case of pregnancy discrimination underscores how important it is that an experienced employment attorney be contacted if there are any possible issues of pregnancy discrimination occurring in the workplace. Whether it be forced leave, wrongful termination, or denying of accommodations, if your employer is giving you any issues because of your pregnancy, your first call should be to an attorney to help navigate you through the process of ensuring you are treated fairly when pregnant.

If you are facing discrimination or harassment simply because you are pregnant, protect your legal rights — call the right attorney. Under federal and Ohio employment laws, employers cannot harass, fire, wrongfully terminate, discriminate against, demote, or wrongfully discipline a female employee just because she got pregnant. When you call the right attorney to schedule a free and confidential initial consultation at 866-797-6040, you will meet with an attorney from Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm to discuss wrongful discrimination claims and help you determine the best way to pursue your gender/sex discrimination claims. Our pregnancy discrimination lawyers know your rights and will fight to protect them.

Disclaimer:

The materials available at the top of this page and on this employment law website are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. If you are still asking “What should I do …”, “I’m being discriminated against …”, or “How do I …”, your best option is to contact an Ohio attorney to obtain advice with respect to pregnancy discrimination questions or any particular employment law issue. Use and access to this employment law website or any of the links contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship. The legal opinions expressed at or through this site are the opinions of the individual lawyer and may not reflect the opinions of Spitz, The Employee’s Law Firm, Brian Spitz, or any individual attorney.

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