What to Do If You're Denied Accommodation While Pregnant at Work

If your employer denies you a reasonable accommodation while you are pregnant, that denial may violate both New Jersey and federal law. You should not have to choose between your health and your paycheck to keep your job.

What the Law Requires

Under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, as amended by the state’s Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (N.J.S.A. 10:5-12(s)), an employer must provide a reasonable accommodation for pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition when a doctor recommends it, unless the employer proves the accommodation would cause an undue hardship on its operations.

The federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, effective since June 27, 2023, imposes a similar requirement on employers with 15 or more employees and is enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Together, these laws leave little room for an employer to simply refuse reasonable accommodations to pregnant employees.

Accommodations that must be considered at work include:

• Bathroom breaks, water breaks, or periodic rest.
• Assistance with manual labor.
• Job restructuring or a modified work schedule.
• A temporary transfer to less strenuous or hazardous work.

The burden of proving undue hardship falls on the employer, not on you.

Signs Your Rights Have Been Violated at Work

Denial does not always look like an outright refusal. Watch for these patterns at work:

• Your employer ignoring a written accommodation request from your doctor
• Being told to take unpaid leave instead of receiving the accommodation you requested
• Facing discipline, a schedule cut, or a demotion after requesting an accommodation
• Being denied a light-duty assignment that other employees with temporary medical restrictions receive, such as a coworker recovering from a back injury
• Being pressured to resign rather than have your role adjusted

New Jersey law also prohibits penalizing you in the terms, conditions, or privileges of your employment for requesting or using an accommodation.

Steps to Take if You’ve Been Denied

• Put your accommodation request in writing. If you asked verbally, follow up by email documenting the date, the accommodation requested, and your employer’s response.
• Keep your doctor’s note. The accommodations recommended by your physicians are an important part of any case review.
• Preserve every relevant email, schedule, and performance review connected to your pregnancy or your accommodation request.
• Use your employer’s HR process if one exists, but do not assume that step alone protects your legal rights.
• Contact an employment attorney before agreeing to a demotion, unpaid leave, or separation tied to your pregnancy.

Why Timing Matters

Discrimination claims under the NJLAD are subject to a two-year statute of limitations, and evidence from your workplace becomes harder to gather the longer you wait. Witnesses leave the company, memories fade, and employers can alter or lose records that may otherwise support your claim.

Meanwhile, the federal deadline is much shorter. To pursue a claim under the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, you generally have 300 days to file a charge with the EEOC.

Call Keating Law Firm for a Free and Confidential Consultation

Attorney Chris Keating represents pregnant workers across New Jersey who were denied an accommodation they were legally entitled to receive under the NJLAD or the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. You should contact Keating Law Firm online or call 856-519-5011 immediately if your employer ignored your doctor’s recommendation, retaliated against you for requesting an accommodation, or pushed you out instead of accommodating you and your pregnancy in the workplace.