Have you experienced any indifference towards yourself at the workplace recently? Were you denied a promotion or a task that you have always been good at or a raise, all because you are pregnant? If that is the case, do not hesitate to call up the pregnancy discrimination lawyers Los Angeles and seek proper legal advice on your case. If your employer has been doing such things then you are entitled to file a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the necessary actions will be taken.
As per federal law, employers are forbidden to discriminate against any employee or job seekers on the grounds of childbirth, pregnancy, or any such condition. If that happens, the candidate has all the right to sue the employer for the damages.
What is Pregnancy Discrimination?
Pregnancy discrimination is said to have taken place when the employer treats a woman in the wrong sense based on her condition of pregnancy or childbirth. This kind of pregnancy discrimination is also a form of illegal sex discrimination that many of us do not know about. Treating a woman indifferently by assuming that her work capacity will be decreased because of her pregnancy condition is surely a form of sex discrimination and that can happen at any point in the employment relationship, right from firing to hiring. For instance, if you were denied any promotions, assignments, or demotions just because you are pregnant, know that it is illegal and action must be taken.
Filing a complaint with the EEOC
As mentioned earlier, if you are sure that your employer has discriminated against you because of your pregnancy or any other related medical condition, the first thing that your lawyer would also suggest is to file a charge of discrimination with the EEOC. If you are sure that you want to file a pregnancy discrimination lawsuit against your employer, then filing a complaint with the EEOC is mandatory as it acts as a forerunner to filing a lawsuit.
While you are sure of filing the charges, there are certain things that you need to provide including all of your information, details of your employer, and then describe the discriminatory act done by your employer in detail and full clarity. Another thing that you must keep in mind is that when the discrimination takes place, you must file the charge within 180 days of that particular incident. Once you have filed the charges, the EEOC will then send the copy of the complaint to the employer and then ask you and the employer for mediation if required.
If the EEOC feels that the charges of discrimination are serious, then an investigation might be conducted based on the complaint that you filed. But before you do any of it, just ensure that you are following all the necessary deadlines otherwise your claims might get dismissed.
Right to sue letter
Once you file the complaint and the EEOC is done with the investigation, they will issue a right to sue letter afterward. Therefore, if you want to go ahead and file a lawsuit against your employer, you can use this letter from the EEOC for the further process.
Talk to pregnancy discrimination lawyers Los Angeles
Another step you should be taking to have a proper understanding and legalities of the situation, you must talk to a good pregnancy discrimination lawyer. Your attorney might send a letter to your employer that would make him think twice about his acts. If your employer has fired you for your pregnancy condition, then the attorney will assess your entire situation and let you know where your case stands and how claim you are eligible to get in this situation, and what possible way forward you have.
The attorney will help you understand and protect your rights as you have additional rights under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) that is imposed by the US department of labor. Being an employee, you are not that aware of all of these rights that is why consulting an attorney would be of great help and you will also get the desired claims for the damages.