I am a stocker/forklift operator and required to do lots of heavy lifting. At 8wks of pregnancy I was restricted by my physician to lift over 15lbs. I turned in my doctors request and was no longer allowed to continue work. I was not anticipating leaving work that early and due to those circumstances I was forced to take more time off than necessary and eventually terminated for not being able to return to work in time(while I was still pregnant) would this constitute as pregnancy discrimination?

Would someone in your position who had a similar restriction for non-maternity medical reasons also be put on leave?

If so, then it's not discrimination because you're being treated the same as anyone else would be.

This situation seems to happen frequently. Employers simply do not want to deal with medical restrictions so they force their employees onto leave prematurely. This is not legal. Unless you absolutely cannot perform your job, or cannot be transfered or accommodated in any other way can the employer force you on leave. And the fact that you were then forced to use all of your leave time and then terminated because of it surely raises some serious red flags.

I would need to know more about your situation to give any definitive answers, but you may want to contact a local attorney or the EEOC.

What is the name of your state & how many employees does your employer have? (to be sure discrimination laws apply)

Thanks.