smoothredd said:
What is the name of your state? Michigan
I am 30 weeks pregnant and in pre-term labor. My doctor put me on complete bed rest until 6-8 weeks post-partum. My employer told me that if I do not return to work at 40 hours per week immediately, I will be replaced. Can she do that?
Have you applied for disability?
How long have you worked for this company, how many employees? Have you applied for FMLA?
Depending on your medical history and other facts, bed rest until delivery might be suggested, but why bed rest until 6-8 weeks post partum? That may be the problem?
Here is some information from
http://www.michigan.gov/documents/Final_Employment_Guide_124633_7.doc
Family & Child Care
Family care and child care discrimination occurs when an employer fails to provide unpaid leave for a legitimate reason as required by law or punishes an employee for taking unpaid leave.
Under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), employers are required to provide eligible employees with 12 weeks of unpaid leave for family care and medical emergencies. Employers with 50 or more employees fall under the FMLA.
Employees may take leave for the birth and care of a newborn baby or newly adopted child as well as care of a spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition. Employees may decide when their leave begins and ends.
Notice & Length of Leave
At least 30 days notice must be given to the employer before taking leave, provided that notice is practical and the need was foreseeable. The reason for the leave must be specified.
Eligible employees are entitled to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for family and medical reasons. Employers may measure the year using a calendar year, a fixed 12-month leave or fiscal year or a 12-month period prior to or after the beginning of leave.
Serious Health Conditions
A serious health condition is any physical or mental illness or injury that involves incapacity, inpatient care or continuing treatment by a health care provider.
If the employee claims leave because of continuing treatment, she must show one of the following:
a health condition that lasts more than three consecutive days and requires treatment
pregnancy or prenatal care
a serious chronic health condition
a permanent long-term condition
a condition that would likely result in a period of incapacity if not treated on multiple occasions
Protected Benefits
Employers must maintain group health insurance coverage for employees during leave as long as that coverage existed before the leave. The terms of the insurance coverage cannot be changed.
Upon return from leave, the employee must be restored to her original position or to an equal job. An employer may not deny the employee benefits that were provided before leave was taken. Leave cannot count against the employee under a no-fault attendance policy.
Filing a Complaint
If you think you have been subject to family or child care discrimination and would like to file a complaint, please contact the Department of Labor at 1-866-487-2365 or 1-877-889-5627 (TTY). Additional information is available at
www.dol.gov.
Pregnancy & Maternity Leave
Pregnancy discrimination occurs when an employer treats a pregnant woman differently than other temporarily disabled employees or hires or fires a woman based on her pregnancy.
A temporary disability is a non-work-related injury that affects an employee’s work-related performance. A broken arm from a skiing accident may be a temporary disability. Pregnant employees must be treated like temporarily disabled employees.
Under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, it is illegal for an employer to discriminate because of a woman’s pregnancy, which includes pregnancy itself, childbirth and any medically-related conditions.
Hiring & Firing
An employer cannot refuse to hire a pregnant woman because of her pregnancy, a pregnancy-related condition or the prejudices of co-workers, clients or customers.
An employer cannot fire a woman because she is pregnant unless she is unable to do her job.
Fringe Benefits & Promotions
Pregnant employees must be treated like temporarily disabled employees for purposes of vacation time, pay increases, health insurance and temporary disability benefits. Pregnancy-related benefits cannot be limited to married employees.
A woman cannot be refused a promotion because she is pregnant. She must receive the same opportunity as other temporarily disabled employees to achieve seniority or a promotion.
Pregnancy & Maternity Leave
An employer must provide the same benefits for those on maternity leave and leave for pregnancy-related conditions as for temporarily disabled employees. See the section on Family & Child Care for information about the length of maternity leave.
An employer is not obligated to make accommodations, such as providing frequent breaks, for pregnant employees. However, if the employer makes accommodations for temporarily disabled employees, he must also make them for pregnant employees.
My co-worker recently threw out his back while sailing. My boss told him that he didn’t have to do any lifting because he was injured. When I asked if I could be exempted from lifting because I was pregnant, my boss said no. Is this acceptable?
No. An employer cannot make accommodations for a temporarily disabled employee but not make the same level of accommodations for a pregnant employee. In this case, the accommodation, not lifting boxes, was the same for both employees. Even if accommodations are not identical for pregnant and non-pregnant employees, they must be made to similar level. Contact MDCR if you have further questions.
Health Insurance
Health insurance provided by an employer must cover expenses for pregnancy-related conditions at the same level as other medical conditions. Health insurance is not required to cover abortion unless the health of the mother is endangered. However, health insurance must cover complications arising from abortion.
Filing a Complaint
If you think you have been subject to pregnancy discrimination and would like to file a complaint, please contact the MDCR for further information (see pages one and two).
Sex Discrimination
Sex discrimination occurs when an employer shows preferential treatment to men or women based on gender. Sex discrimination is unlawful under the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act and Title VII.
