Every case has a statute of limitations – the date by which it must be filed, or the chances are lost forever. In discrimination cases, sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination, retaliation, any kind of employment law case, a charge of discrimination must be filed with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission before you’re allowed to file in court, and that charge of discrimination must be filed, within either 180 days of the last discriminatory act or 300 days of the last discriminatory act, depending on the state where you work. So for instance, in New York, that federal filing date with EEOC is 300 days from, if you were fired, that is likely the last discriminatory act.

Tuckner Sipser partner William J. Sipser argued and won a recent disability discrimination decision on behalf of his client, Suzette…

Your company must have a conversation with you about your needs when you’re pregnant, and it has to “reasonably accommodate” you – that’s the phrase for having a little flexibility when you are pregnant.

if your company has at least 50 employees, you are covered for up to a year after your baby is born, you are permitted, and they are required to create, make this space for you to express milk and continue lactating during working hours. Unpaid time, but they can’t discriminate and they must permit you to do so. If your employer does not have 50 employees, approximately half of the states in the United States have their own lactation laws such as in New York, and Connecticut, where I practice law – both of those laws go farther than the federal law in protecting women who are lactating.

Whatever the challenge you’re facing, whether it is something related to pregnancy, or you have influenza, or a more serious issue and you need your employer to work with you, be flexible, compassionate, reasonably accommodate you – make sure that you’re documenting all of this, putting it in writing, so you’ll have a paper trail, because your employer can’t just be dismissive and cavalier and say, “Sorry, it’s too much of a pain in the butt for us, we’re not dealing with you anymore.” That would be illegal disability discrimination.

Only if the real reason is based on the illegal factors embodied in the federal or state discrimination laws, then you got some leverage to hold your employer accountable.

The only bullying that is illegal is if you’re being treated differently because of who you are as a woman, a person of color, because of your religion, your age, your disability, your pregnancy, or because you decline unwelcome sexual advances at work – then you are being discriminated against, retaliated against, or just treated badly – that’s all illegal.

If you are dealing with harassment in the workplace, very important that you complain to your employer. Give them a chance to investigate your allegations of gender discrimination, or harassment based on your race, color, pregnancy, national origin – it doesn’t matter. The point is, that you have to give the employer, the company, the opportunity to fix it.

By Jack Tuckner, Esq. Age discrimination is a real thing. It is alive and well. Ageism in our culture. If…

By Jack Tuckner, Esq. You know what always annoys me – when companies lie to pregnant women, and tell them…