I heard that employer can not lay off a pregnant employee. Is it true? I worked in New York. Thanks in advance.

June

I heard that employer can not lay off a pregnant employee. Is it true? I worked in New York. Thanks in advance.

June

As you stated it, it isn't true. A pregnant employee can be laid off if they would have been laid off had they not been pregnant. They have to be treated the same as non-pregnant employees. You can't be discriminated against/treated different just because of your pregnancy but you get no special treatment. New York's discrimination laws apply to employers with 4 or more employees.

Please furnish more details including:
Did FMLA apply?
How many employees does your co. have?
Were other employees laid off also?

Thanks Betty,

I'm not sure if FMLA applies. I was 2 and a half month pregnant when laid off (I don't know if they even knew I was pregnant). My pregancy didn't affect my work performance. I had been working there for 5+ years.

My previous company has about 11 full-time employees and few part-timers.

I was the only one who was laid off. The company actually hired another young man only a couple of weeks before my layoff, but his task was different from mine. The boss told me we were lacking the jobs of my position, while was busy for other positions.

Thanks a lot.

June

If the company didn't know that you were pregnant, then it certainly can't have been a factor in deciding who to lay off, right?

You cannot be selected for layoff BECAUSE you are pregnant but you can be laid off in spite of it. There is no law in any state that prohibits an employer from laying off a pregnant employee - they just can't lay her off BECAUSE she is pregnant.

JuneFlower - agree with cbg. Betty3

cbg & Betty3, Thanks a lot. Your opinion is very informative. I just tried to get some education.
June

You're very welcome.