WashijaHappy Family
What happened with Lindsey was unfair and should not have occurred, especially at such a special time in her life. But she grew from that experience and now is a mother of a healthy baby girl. Lindsey found another job as a clerk at a retail store and had not felt the stress of not being able to support her daughter ever since.
Pregnancy Discrimination
Unfortunately, Lindsey is not the only one who has faced discrimination due to pregnancy. So many women battle against pregnancy discrimination at their place of work. Thousands of women around the country as well as her home state, Florida, have complained about facing this issue and reported similar incidents.
Protection From Discrimination
Due to the volume of endless complaints on this matter, in the year 2015, the Florida legislature decided to take action to help in ending such discrimination. They altered the Florida Human Rights Act by adding pregnant women to the list of groups who should be protected from employment discrimination.
Know Your Rights
The state of Florida legally protects pregnant women, however, many of them are still not aware of the same. Lawyers and experts emphasize on how significant it is for women like Lindsey to be aware of their rights and fight for what they deserve. Working while pregnant is challenging as it is, but to be treated with discrimination on top of that makes life unbearable.
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA)
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act was introduced back in 1978 to eliminate pregnancy based discrimination. The PDA prohibits discrimination based on current pregnancy, past pregnancy, potential or intended pregnancy or medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth. Although this act has been around for more than 40 years now, women still have to battle against pregnancy discrimination.
Whitney From Walmart
Apart from the Reececliff Family Diner, many other establishments have been criticized by the media for discriminating against their pregnant employees. In 2017, the retail departmental store, Walmart came under the attention of the media networks after an employee named Whitney Tomlinson came forward with her story. When Whitney’s superiors found out that she was pregnant, they insisted she goes on unpaid leave until after the birth of her child.