Pregnancy can be a physically demanding time. You may find you have more trouble standing for a full shift. You may need to take extra-bathroom breaks, or you may no longer be able to work the same schedule as you worked prior to pregnancy. Being punished for not being able to work as you did before becoming pregnant may be grounds for a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit. New Jersey has recently taken steps to protect pregnant workers from discrimination, so it’s important you understand whether or not you’ve been a victim of pregnancy discrimination.

Who Is Protected Under the Law Against Discrimination (LAD)?

In 2014, New Jersey amended the state Law Against Discrimination (LAD) to provide additional protection to pregnant workers. The law protects workers who need accommodation due to pregnancy, childbirth, or medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth. The employee is required to request the accommodation based on the advice of a physician.

What Employers Can’t Do

Employers are prohibited from refusing to hire an applicant because of pregnancy, firing an employee due to pregnancy, or treating a pregnant female employee less favorably due to the pregnancy. The employer does not even need to know the employee is pregnant. If the employer does know an employee is pregnant, the employer is prohibited from discriminating. Employers are also prohibited from retaliating against an employee for requesting accommodation.

The Exceptions

Employers are not required to provide every accommodation the employee requests. Employers are only required to provide reasonable accommodations that do not cause an undue hardship to the employer’s business. This may depend on the size of the employer’s business, the number of employees he has, the structure of the workforce, and the type of accommodation needed.

What to Do If You’re a Victim – Contact an Experienced NJ Pregnancy Discrimination Lawyer

Do you believe you’ve been discriminated against because you are pregnant? It’s important to act quickly to find out if you may have a pregnancy discrimination case. Since every situation is different, only an experienced NJ pregnancy discrimination attorney can help you fully understand your rights under the LAD.

The attorneys at Hyderally & Associates are ready to help you. They have experience working with the new LAD, so they can review your situation to provide information that will help you decide if you would like to pursue a claim against your employer for pregnancy discrimination. Call an experienced pregnancy discrimination attorney in New Jersey at 973-509-8500.

The above blog post was written over one year ago. The information in this blog post may not be current due to changes in the law or recent case decisions. We encourage you to contact our firm, at 973-509-8500, for information on this particular post and to make sure the content is still current.

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