{"id":2512,"date":"2014-10-29T13:18:47","date_gmt":"2014-10-29T13:18:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mydoorsignblog.com\/blog\/?p=2512"},"modified":"2020-07-17T05:36:26","modified_gmt":"2020-07-17T05:36:26","slug":"pregnancy-discrimination-bronx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mydoorsign.com/blog\/pregnancy-discrimination-bronx\/","title":{"rendered":"Pregnancy discrimination in the Bronx made right"},"content":{"rendered":"

One pregnant woman who says she was forced out of her job earlier this year is back to work, and her case offers some teachable lessons for others facing similar challenges in the workplace. As the New York Times reports<\/a>, 39-year-old Angelica Valencia was told by her doctor that she should work at most eight hours daily \u2014 no overtime \u2014 in her job as a potato packer in the Bronx, New York. Yet her employer, Fierman Produce Exchange, would not let her continue working unless her doctor gave her “full-duty medical clearance.”<\/p>\n

Valencia, who had miscarried a high-risk pregnancy last year, gave her manager a doctor’s note in early August that explained that her current \u2014 and also high-risk \u2014 pregnancy meant that she could work eight hours at most each day. (Earlier that summer, when she says she had told supervisors that her pregnancy was high-risk, she was informed that she could only work without restrictions. She took time off to try to negotiate with her company, and returned to work after co-workers offered to take on lifting and heavy machinery responsibilities to help her out.)<\/p>\n

\"pregnancy<\/a>

A pregnant woman was told she couldn’t work without full-duty medical clearance. From Frank de Kleine<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

Yet in August, Valencia said her supervisors demanded that she put in overtime hours. Reports the Times, \u201cValencia felt so ill after two lengthy shifts that she went to the hospital and then to her doctor, who gave her the letter that she handed to her boss.\u201d The company’s reply to the doctor’s note? \u201cUnfortunately, we as a company are not able to allow you to continue work,\u201d wrote the company\u2019s operations manager, who also warned that Valencia might be put at risk in the company\u2019s fast-paced, machinery-driven work environment.<\/p>\n

Though Valencia implored her managers to let her work \u2014 sans overtime \u2014 in her job, which pays $8.70 per hour, they would not let her continue without full-duty medical clearance. Valencia, who relied upon the paycheck to help support herself and her husband, a private bus driver, \u201cturned in her company identification and wept as she started the long commute home,\u201d reports the Times.<\/p>\n

Valencia\u2019s lawyers claim that Fierman, her employer, violated New York City\u2019s Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. The Act, which stipulates that employers must make reasonable accommodations for pregnant employees, was signed into law last October by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, and went into effect this January. It requires companies to make “reasonable accommodations” for pregnant workers, by providing water and rest breaks, light duty, and modified schedules, provided these don’t result in “undue hardship” for the company.<\/p>\n

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is, as the Times notes, especially important for women like Valencia: \u201clow-income women who sometimes get pushed out of their jobs \u2014 and into poverty \u2014 when they become pregnant.\u201d Valencia was not informed of her rights under the Act by her employer, though they were required to do so by law. Fortunately, now, following a profile of Valencia’s case in the Times, her bosses are offering her job back.<\/p>\n

It is especially important that pregnant women get informed of their rights as workers, such as those guaranteed under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act: \u201cIf a woman is temporarily unable to perform her job due to a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth, the employer or other covered entity must treat her in the same way as it treats any other temporarily disabled employee. For example, the employer may have to provide light duty, alternative assignments, disability leave, or unpaid leave to pregnant employees if it does so for other temporarily disabled employees.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn more about pregnancy discrimination and what you can do to address it online from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission<\/a>. New Yorkers can learn more about the city\u2019s Pregnant Workers Fairness Act<\/a>; if you\u2019re based in another area, consult local and state laws for further resources.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One pregnant woman who says she was forced out of her job earlier this year is back to work, and her case offers some teachable lessons for others facing similar challenges in the workplace. As the New York Times reports, 39-year-old Angelica Valencia was told by her doctor that she should work at most eight […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":2516,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[343,342],"class_list":["post-2512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-pregnancy-discrimination-act","tag-pregnant-workers-fairness-act"],"yoast_head":"\nPregnancy discrimination in the Bronx made right - Mydoorsign.com Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A pregnant woman was told she could not work with restrictions, which is illegal under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mydoorsign.com/blog\/pregnancy-discrimination-bronx\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pregnancy discrimination in the Bronx made right - Mydoorsign.com Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A pregnant woman was told she could not work with restrictions, which is illegal under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mydoorsign.com/blog\/pregnancy-discrimination-bronx\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mydoorsign.com Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/doorsigns\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-10-29T13:18:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-07-17T05:36:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/149b81.p3cdn1.secureserver.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/pregnant-woman.jpg?time=1722558870\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"421\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Katy B. 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