pregnancy discrimination

I recently had a baby and went back to work after appx 8 weeks. When I came back I was given a very hard time about any other leave for that year. Most of the leave concerned medical reasons such as follow up appts and some dental work. However, I was refused any additional leave for any reason. When we received our evaluations this month, I received the lowest score on both leave and absences. This in turn caused me to receive one of the lowest evaluations I have ever received and one of the lowest raises ever. Can an employer base your evaluations on pregnancy? This was the only low score I received and the reason was due to leave of absence based on pregnancy. Can they do that? I really need help on this because after checking with other women who have had babies, this is a normal practice for this company.

Suggest you look up and read the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1974, as amended, along with the Family and Medical Leave Act.

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act is an Amendment to Title VII which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act prohibits discrimination because of pregnancy, childbirth or related medical condition. Therefore, a woman is protected against adverse actions (i.e., firing, demotion and in your case, poor performance evaluations causing you to make less money).

You should file a Charge of Discrimination with the EEOC or hire an attorney to do so. This should protect your job as the company (if they are smart) won't retaliate against you.

Maybe this will not only stop them from discriminating against you but other women in the company.