Maternity Leave Laws

Maternity leave becomes an issue under the legal proscriptions of both the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act. The PDA requires employers to treat employees desiring maternity leave in the same way as they treat those workers out on short-term disability. And the FMLA has a boatload of demands employers must adhere to when it comes to leave for maternity and childbirth.

When discrimination based on pregnancy plays a part in a demotion or termination, the employee has a case under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. Paternalistic beliefs that pregnant women need protection should not be part of the reason for any action, even if well-intentioned.

Warren Tricomi Salons, with locations on New York’s Upper East Side, will pay $30,000 to settle a pregnancy discrimination suit filed by the EEOC on behalf of an assistant who claims the company re­­scinded an offer to promote her and then fired her after her boss learned she was pregnant.

Here’s a tip if you use performance improvement plans (PIP) before termination. Track what happens to everyone who’s on a PIP. Note those who quit instead of facing discharge.

If you provide additional leave or special arrangements for someone recovering from a heart attack or broken leg, you must provide them for a pregnant employee, too. Otherwise, you may be violating the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.

Because absenteeism typically comes under the "minor problem" category, the first step is a precounseling session between the individual and his supervisor. In this session the supervisor determines if the employee understands the company's policy on absences. The positive discipline approach then consists of the following stages:

In tough times like these, employees are being asked to do more with less. Temporarily losing a worker to pregnancy, childbirth and maternity leave can create scheduling havoc. That doesn’t mean, however, that supervisors can let their irritation show.

Sometimes in HR, you know more than you want to know. But as this new court ruling shows, sharing in­­side information with an employee isn’t a smart move … for your em­­ployer or your career.

HR Law 101: Your supervisors probably understand that they can’t pay a male more than a female to perform the same job or dole out promotions only to males. What they may not appreciate are the more subtle forms that gender discrimination may take. They may not make an effort to scrutinize their decisions to uncover any entrenched patterns of discrimination and practices that discourage women from applying for promotions or asking for raises ...

Businesses must stay abreast of an alphabet soup of federal laws—ADA, ADEA, FMLA and so forth—each with its own requirements. Further complicating matters, most states have their own laws that override the federal requirements. To comply, you first must know which laws apply to your business, based on the number of people you employ ...