California workers have the right to work without fear of discrimination. This goes for pregnant women as well. Unfortunately, discrimination against pregnant women can take surprising forms. In some cases, it is hard to tell you are facing discrimination.
It is important to understand the covert signs of pregnancy discrimination. This allows you to fight back if you are up against it.
“Icing out” a pregnant worker
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission discusses pregnancy discrimination at the workplace. It is against the law for employers to treat pregnant workers in a discriminatory way. Unfortunately, discrimination does not stop because it is illegal. On top of that, discrimination against pregnant workers is not always obvious.
Often, if you face discrimination as a pregnant worker, it takes other forms. For example, a well-used technique is “icing someone out”. In doing this, your colleagues and employers begin to leave you out of the group. They may even begin to cut you out of meetings or on-the-clock events. The intention of this tactic is to force you to feel so uncomfortable that you leave on your own.
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Good intentions versus discrimination
This tactic is easy to disguise, too. Many people who use this claim that they are doing it for your sake. They do not want to make you uncomfortable by inviting you to situations where there is alcohol. They do not want to stress you out. They do not want to add more to your plate than what you already have. In some cases, this is genuine concern. But pay attention to other signs, like talks of promotion being quietly dropped. This may be a sign that they are trying to get you to leave.
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