Can your employer fire you if you become temporarily unable to do your job because you’re pregnant?
Absolutely not.
Why? Well, first of all, it would be pregnancy discrimination, and pregnancy discrimination is also sex discrimination. And if you’re temporarily unable to do your job due to a pregnancy-based issue, medical issues, pregnancy-based condition of any kind, morning sickness, high risk pregnancy, that’s also a disability, a pregnancy-based disability, and your employer can’t terminate you simply because you have an impairment, any kind, actually any kind of disability.
But certainly it would be sex-based disability if it’s related to pregnancy. So sex, pregnancy, disability, your employer cannot fire you because you become temporarily unable to do your job because of pregnancy. Now, if you have a high risk pregnancy and your OB-GYN says you must stay out for the net last two trimesters and then stay out when you’re on maternity leave and you can’t come back for nine months to work, that may be a little too much because there is no law to protect you for being out of work that long consecutively. But if we’re talking about temporary days, weeks, forget about maternity leave, you’re entitled to a full maternity leave. But if we’re saying you’re unable to do your job during your pregnancy because of a pregnancy related limitation, you cannot be fired for that, or it’s illegal.
You have a question about your own pregnancy based challenges at work? Give me a shout, text call. My name is Jack Tuckner – We are Tuckner, Sipser, Weinstock, and Sipser – an employee-rights law firm based in New York City. Give me a shout.