Pregnancy discrimination often happens when someone becomes pregnant. This is a significant life change. It may impact their availability if they need to go on maternity leave or take time off for appointments and medical obligations.
This type of discrimination may be relatively clear. If a woman reveals to her boss that she has become pregnant and then finds out the next week that she has been fired, she may believe that her pregnancy is the only reason for the termination of her position. Her boss is just trying to replace her with another worker who will not need to go on maternity leave, which is a clear violation of her rights.
The potential to become pregnant
That being said, the law technically states that a woman cannot be discriminated against for anything related to pregnancy, including her capacity to become pregnant.
For example, if an employer is interviewing new candidates for a position, they may have a candidate who is a young woman who recently got married. The employer may be wary of hiring her because there is a potential for her to become pregnant in the next five to 10 years.
But if that woman is perfectly qualified for the job and is simply passed over because the employer is concerned that she might choose to become pregnant, that is still a form of pregnancy discrimination. Even if the woman never intends to have children, she is still being discriminated against based on her gender.
Issues like this can become very complicated, and employees who believe their rights have been violated must know what legal options they have.
