Sabatini and Associates, LLC Attorneys at Law :: Newington :: Hartford :: Connecticut

According to the Equal�Employment Opportunity Commission, workplace discrimination against pregnant women appears to have�risen in recent years.� Since 1992, pregnancy discrimination complaints have gone up 45%. (Though, as discussed in this piece, some of this increase may be the result of women being more aware of their rights under the law.)

According to Elizabeth Grossman, an attorney with the EEOC, more than half the complaints they receive of pregnancy discrimination are of unfair termination of employment. But, adds Grossman, the discrimination runs wide and deep. Women are passed over for promotion, outright demoted, treated differently, and denied training opportunities, all because of their pregnancies.

If discrimination is on the rise, Ms. Grossman notes, economic factors may be at play. Businesses struggle today with rising health care costs, which may color employers attitudes toward pregnant employees. Needless to say, this doesn’t make it right.

Pregnancy discrimination is illegal. An employer cannot refuse to hire a woman because she is pregnant. If a woman’s pregnancy makes her unable to work, she must be treated the same as any other temporarily disabled employee at her company. Health insurance provided by employers must cover pregnancy-related treatment in a way comparable to other medical conditions. Single pregnant women must be treated the same as married ones.

If you have been discriminated in the workplace on the account of your pregnancy, please contact one of our employment litigation trial lawyers.

Under Connecticut law, every employee has a right to obtain a copy of his personnel file. Pursuant to C.G.Sec. 31-128g. Employee’s right to obtain copies. Each employer shall, within a reasonable time after receipt of a written request from an employee, provide such employee with a copy of all or part of his personnel file or provide such employee’s physician with a copy of such employee’s medical records, provided such request reasonably identifies the materials to be copied. Such employer may charge a fee for copying such file or records or any part of such file or records. Such fee shall be reasonably related to the cost of supplying the requested documents.