Our federal employment law firm recently settled a case where our client, a federal employee, faced discrimination based on pregnancy and her gender. Discrimination against pregnant women is all too common today and a serious societal issue. People might think it is does not happen, but it does.
Typically, this means that a pregnant employee sees her career prospects dim after her employer learns about her pregnancy. Sometimes, egregiously, she loses her job or her entire career is even derailed.
But, especially for federal employees given certain protections, that is not the only way pregnancy discrimination occurs. It can also occur when a federal agency, or other employer makes the workplace more difficult and creates a hostile work environment for a pregnant employee because of her pregnancy. For instance, there could be disagreement in the supervisory chain about the extent to which a pregnant employee should be accommodated, and the employee can get blamed and even punished for the fall out, all while trying to take care of herself in anticipation of a new life.
Proving pregnancy discrimination is a complicated matter, which risks faced by both the employee and the agency. Thus, even when an employee believes there is a strong case, it is often wise to find federal employee lawyers who can provide guidance and assess the case and provide insight into how to settle (or otherwise handle) the matter. This can be especially true in the federal sector where federal employees have different legal rights and different potential damages based on the differences in the law.
If you are a federal employee who feels you are being treated differently because of pregnancy or gender, or any protected characteristic, please contact our attorneys. We can help federal government employees in all fifty states and worldwide, no matter where you are stationed.