The Pregnancy Discrimination Act, or PDA, states that it is illegal for employers to intentionally discriminate against a pregnant employee, or to maintain a company policy which, intentionally or unintentionally, adversely affects pregnant employees. An employer also cannot discriminate on the basis of childbirth or related medical conditions, and must give the same treatment and benefits to pregnant employees as it does to other temporarily disabled employees. If a pregnant employee is temporarily unable to perform her employment duties due to her pregnancy, her employer must treat her the same as any other temporarily disabled employee, e.g., by providing modified tasks, alternative assignments, disability leave or leave without pay.
However, the PDA does not prohibit employers from taking adverse action against a pregnant employee based on the employee's conduct, even if the conduct is related to pregnancy. For example, the court held that a pregnant nurse who refused to treat HIV-positive patients when she was pregnant could legally be fired by her employer, as hospital policy required all nurses to treat HIV-positive patients.
Pregnancy discrimination that is illegal under the PDA includes: 1) refusing to hire a pregnant applicant; 2) taking adverse employment action against a pregnant employee, e.g., firing or demoting; 3) treating pregnant employees differently than other temporarily disabled workers; 4) denying the same or a similar job to an employee after she returns to work from pregnancy leave.
It is illegal for an employer to retaliate against an employee for complaining about pregnancy or gender discrimination. An employer may not fire, demote or discipline an employee for any formal or informal complaints of discrimination.
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