Pregnancy can be such an exciting time of our lives. It’s filled with the joy of knowing that new life is coming into this world; that you have been given a wonderful gift.
But at the same time, it can be filled with a certain amount of stress. There are always going to be questions regarding the unknown. In the beginning of our first pregnancy we find ourselves running to the local bookstore (or doing some good ‘ol online shopping!) and buying the classic pregnancy books: What to Expect When You are Expecting? or Your Pregnancy Week by Week.
But there are still lingering questions…questions surrounding your pregnancy, but not necessarily involved directly with what’s going on with your body. Perhaps you have, as many people do, questions about pregnancy and your workplace.
Do you fear losing your job because you are pregnant? Or perhaps you are concerned about revealing your newly discovered pregnancy to that dream job you are on the cusp of getting…you know, the one you have been interviewing with for the past few months, before you had any idea you were going to get pregnant.
Such concerns are real. But before you begin to stress too much about it, we have a little helpful guide for you today from The Stir regarding 10 Rights of Every Pregnant Working Woman. That’s right…these are rights, things which legally belong to you. They are not privileges given at the behest of the employer; no, these are rights given to you by law!
For example, remember that whole fear of losing your job? Well,
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You can’t be fired because you’re pregnant. While this may seem like a no-brainer, bosses have some underhanded ways to make termination due to pregnancy seem legit. For instance, “We have heard from pregnant women who were fired by bosses who did not give them a reason, or who gave them a reason that was provably false, such as firing them for misplacing a bank deposit that was not misplaced but was actually made,” says Cynthia Calvert, an employment lawyer who studies pregnancy discrimination from both the employer and the employee perspective and president of Workforce 21C.
That’s right. You can’t. Can not. Even though there may be some unscrupulous people out there, you…if you know your rights, can learn to deal with them.
Well this is just one example of the ten found in this great article. Read it. Enjoy. And know your rights.