One pregnant woman who says she was forced out of her job earlier this year is back to work, and her case offers some teachable lessons for others facing similar challenges in the workplace. As the New York Times reports, 39-year-old Angelica Valencia was told by her doctor that she should work at most eight hours daily — no overtime — in her job as a potato packer in the Bronx, New York. Yet her employer, Fierman Produce Exchange, would not let her continue working unless her doctor gave her “full-duty medical clearance.”
Valencia, who had miscarried a high-risk pregnancy last year, gave her manager a doctor’s note in early August that explained that her current — and also high-risk — pregnancy meant that she could work eight hours at most each day. (Earlier that summer, when she says she had told supervisors that her pregnancy was high-risk, she was informed that she could only work without restrictions. She took time off to try to negotiate with her company, and returned to work after co-workers offered to take on lifting and heavy machinery responsibilities to help her out.)
A pregnant woman was told she couldn’t work without full-duty medical clearance. From Frank de Kleine.
Yet in August, Valencia said her supervisors demanded that she put in overtime hours. Reports the Times, “Valencia felt so ill after two lengthy shifts that she went to the hospital and then to her doctor, who gave her the letter that she handed to her boss.” The company’s reply to the doctor’s note? “Unfortunately, we as a company are not able to allow you to continue work,” wrote the company’s operations manager, who also warned that Valencia might be put at risk in the company’s fast-paced, machinery-driven work environment.
Though Valencia implored her managers to let her work — sans overtime — in her job, which pays $8.70 per hour, they would not let her continue without full-duty medical clearance. Valencia, who relied upon the paycheck to help support herself and her husband, a private bus driver, “turned in her company identification and wept as she started the long commute home,” reports the Times.
Valencia’s lawyers claim that Fierman, her employer, violated New York City’s Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. The Act, which stipulates that employers must make reasonable accommodations for pregnant employees, was signed into law last October by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, and went into effect this January. It requires companies to make “reasonable accommodations” for pregnant workers, by providing water and rest breaks, light duty, and modified schedules, provided these don’t result in “undue hardship” for the company.
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is, as the Times notes, especially important for women like Valencia: “low-income women who sometimes get pushed out of their jobs — and into poverty — when they become pregnant.” Valencia was not informed of her rights under the Act by her employer, though they were required to do so by law. Fortunately, now, following a profile of Valencia’s case in the Times, her bosses are offering her job back.
It is especially important that pregnant women get informed of their rights as workers, such as those guaranteed under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act: “If a woman is temporarily unable to perform her job due to a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth, the employer or other covered entity must treat her in the same way as it treats any other temporarily disabled employee. For example, the employer may have to provide light duty, alternative assignments, disability leave, or unpaid leave to pregnant employees if it does so for other temporarily disabled employees.”
Learn more about pregnancy discrimination and what you can do to address it online from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. New Yorkers can learn more about the city’s Pregnant Workers Fairness Act; if you’re based in another area, consult local and state laws for further resources.