Families in Minnesota oftentimes plan meticulously for pregnancies. Couples will strive to ensure, as much as possible, that they are financially secure and have the living space to welcome a new addition to the family. However, one aspect of pregnancy that may come as a surprise is the potential for an employee to experience discrimination in the workplace due to the pregnancy. But, how big of a problem is pregnancy discrimination?
Previous posts here have described all different types of discrimination that occurs in the workplace; discrimination based on gender, race, religion and more. However, pregnancy discrimination oftentimes flies under the radar, as pregnant women may not want to even acknowledge that a workplace incident occurred due to the pregnancy. Unfortunately, women who are pregnant may get passed over for a promotion, reassigned to different positions or even terminated from employment.
Over the past several decades, millions of women have entered the workforce. Many chose professional positions that may have been thought of traditionally as male-dominated fields: lawyers, bankers, police officers, etc. And, many of these women have progressed their careers just as quickly as a man would, doing the same type of work at the same quality. However, if these women get pregnant, it is an unfortunate reality that they may see their climb up the corporate ladder come to a screeching halt.
Pregnancy discrimination in the workplace should not be tolerated. Any women in Minnesota who experience this type of discrimination may want to get more information about whether or not they have a valid legal claim.
