Recently in CT Employment Discrimination Category

The number of pregnancy-discrimination claims brought to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has climbed nearly 31 percent since 2005, outpacing the almost 24 percent rise in all job-bias claims brought to the federal agency during that span, according to the EEOC.

Several factors account for the sharp rise in Pregnancy Discrimination Act claims. These include greater employee awareness of their rights, managers not always respectful of the wishes of expectant employees, and a failing economy that has made employers quicker to fire and employees more willing to sue. 

In Gross v. FBL Financial Services Inc., the United States Supreme Court changed the standard of proof for workers who sue under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967. Under the Court's 5-4 opinion, a worker must prove that the employer would not have taken a certain action, such as a demotion, "but for" the worker's age, even if there's evidence that age was a factor in the decision.  The change in the standard of proof makes it more difficult for a plaintiff' to prove his age discrimination case.  The previous standard of proof  was that age was a motivating factor in the adverse employer action.  Congress is introducing legislation that would override the Supreme Court's interpretation of the age-discrimination law. Under the legislation, a plaintiff would have to show only that an "impermissible factor" such as age "was a motivating factor" in the employer's action.

The PDA amends Title VII to prohibit an employer from treating pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions any differently than it treats other temporary disabilities for purposes of employment, including hiring, firing, promotion, seniority, leaves of absence, benefits, pay increases, and other terms or conditions of employment.

The PDA does not require employers to treat pregnant employees in any special manner with respect to employment-related matters, to establish any new programs where none currently exists, or to provide pregnancy-related disability leave to any employees.

Coverage

Employers with at least 15 employees on each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year are covered by the PDA.  In addition, an employer with a significant number of part-time employees might be covered, even though fewer than 15 individuals are scheduled to work on any one day.

Pregnancy Leave

An employer may not pre-establish the following.

• A mandatory beginning date for maternity leave (e.g., beginning of third trimester).  An employer cannot force an employee to take time off for pregnancy or a pregnancy-related condition, unless the condition prevents the employee from being able to do her job. 
  
  
• A length of time for maternity leave (e.g., at least four weeks after the birth).  A woman who has given birth must be allowed to return to her job when she can perform it if other employees who have been absent because of a temporary disability are allowed to return to work as soon as they are able.  If a doctor's statement is required to establish return dates for pregnant workers, a similar statement must be required for employees on disability leave for other reasons.

Reinstatement

Reinstatement rights of women on leave for pregnancy or pregnancy-related reasons are protected to the extent employees on other types of disability leave have such rights.  Such rights include return to the same or an equivalent position, seniority, and retirement benefits.

Benefits

Any benefits provided to employees with temporary, long-term, or permanent disabilities must also be available to employees disabled by pregnancy-related conditions.  Examples: paying disability benefits, health and life insurance premium payments, pension accrual, and profit-sharing plans.

If an employer offers different health plans for employees to choose from, each plan must cover pregnancy-related conditions and the deductible for such conditions must be the same.

If an employer's insured health plan denies coverage for pre-existing conditions, that plan may deny coverage for a pregnancy that exists at the time that the coverage became effective.  However, an employer is prohibited from applying any such limit differently for pregnancy-related conditions than for other medical conditions.

The PDA does not require that an employer health plan provide dependent or spousal coverage.  If a plan restricts coverage to employees, additional coverage is not required.

If the medical expenses of employees' spouses are covered under the employer's plan, pregnancy-related expenses of a male employee's wife must receive the same coverage.  However, a pregnant spouse does not necessarily have to receive the same coverage as a pregnant employee.

Every year hundreds of thousands of teen workers in the United States are subjected to unlawful sexual harassment. The teen employees are typically subjected to sexual harassment by their supervisors. They are subjected to harassment for numerous reasons including their age and relative inexperience in the workplace, low pay, and the threat of being easily replaced. Many teens simply do not know what legal protections they have in the workplace including the right to be free from sexual harassment and gender discrimination. A PBS recently aired a story on this subject featuring a young lady that was subjected to sexual harassment in the workplace.  The video has been posted below.

Connecticut's anti-discrimination law prohibits discrimination in employment against any employee who is gay, lesbian or bisexual or who is identifed as being gay, lesbian or bisexual. You do not have to be "out" to be protected. You do not even have to be gay to be protected from discrimination based on sexual orientation.  Connecticut is one of about a dozen states that has a statute prohibiting employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. 

There is no federal law prohibiting such discrimination.  There is legislation pending in Congress that would outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation but not on gender identity. 

Bullying in the Connecticut workplace is not illegal.  We receive many phone calls and emails from Connecticut workers who are being verbally abused and bullied in the office and believe that they have a legal case against their employer  Unfortunately, such abuse is not illegal and there is no legal case. There is no Connecticut or federal law to protect an employee from verbal abuse or bullying.  The exception to this rule is if the abuse and bullying is being motivated by unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, gender, disability, religious background, sexual orientation or age.  If this is the case, then the employee has legal remedies.  But, if your boss or supervisor is simply an equal opportunity bully, you, as the employee, can complain to your employer about it but your employer is under no legal obligation to correct it.  Interestingly, our elected Connecticut representatives are well aware of the problem and this "loophole" in the law.  Legislation has been proposed to outlaw workplace bullying but it has never been passed.