You have the right to be both an employee and a parent.
Federal, state, and local laws protect employees from discrimination based on pregnancy and discrimination based on gender stereotypes about who should and should not be caring for children.
Discrimination based on pregnancy
Pregnant workers are entitled to job accommodations similar to the accommodations their employer grants to disabled and other non-pregnant employees. This means that pregnant employees who need time off for doctors’ appointments or other pregnancy complications should be accommodated. Employers should also do their best to accommodate pregnant employees who need light duty assignments during their pregnancies. Demoting or terminating pregnant employees is strictly prohibited.
Discrimination based on the sex stereotypes of caregiving
Many companies’ leave policies discriminate against biological fathers. Biological mothers do require more time off in parental leave policies than biological fathers and parents who have adopted children because they need to physically recover from giving birth. However, many policies take this too far, awarding mothers far more time off than fathers. This extra amount of bonding time awarded to mothers reinforces sex stereotypes that mothers should be the primary caretakers for their children, and fathers should not be.
In addition, employers can break the law when they base employment decisions on sex stereotypes about women placing childrearing above their careers. Mothers who have been passed over for promotions, given less difficult assignments than their peers, demoted, or terminated should discuss their situations with an attorney.
Your Right to Parental Leave
Many employees are entitled to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) after the birth or adoption of a child. New Jersey currently has a paid parental leave law, and New York’s paid parental leave law will go into effect on January 1, 2018.
