Can an Employer Withdraw a Job Offer Because You Are Pregnant?
No. A New York employer cannot legally rescind a job offer because an applicant is pregnant, recently gave birth, may become pregnant, or needs a reasonable pregnancy-related accommodation.
An employer may withdraw an offer for a legitimate reason unrelated to pregnancy, such as a failed background check, a material misrepresentation, or the elimination of the position. But pregnancy cannot be the reason, even if the employer is concerned about maternity leave, attendance, physical limitations, staffing, or the applicant's long-term commitment.
Whether a withdrawal was lawful turns on the employer's reason for it.
Key Takeaways
- A New York employer cannot rescind a job offer because an applicant is pregnant, recently gave birth, may become pregnant, or needs a reasonable pregnancy-related accommodation.
- An offer may be withdrawn for a legitimate reason unrelated to pregnancy, but pregnancy cannot influence the decision.
- A job offer rescinded soon after pregnancy disclosure, particularly when the employer gives a false or changing explanation, may indicate pregnancy discrimination.
- Applicants are protected by federal, New York State, and New York City anti-discrimination laws even if they never started the job.
- Our pregnancy discrimination results include a federal jury verdict for an employee fired after disclosing her pregnancy and a $100,000 pre-lawsuit settlement for a New York applicant whose job offer was rescinded after she disclosed her pregnancy.
What Laws Protect Pregnant Job Applicants in New York?
Pregnant applicants may be protected by several overlapping laws:
- The federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act prohibits covered employers from discriminating in hiring because of pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition.
- The federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act may require a covered employer to provide a reasonable accommodation to a qualified applicant with a known pregnancy-related limitation.
- The New York State Human Rights Law prohibits pregnancy discrimination in hiring.
- The New York City Human Rights Law prohibits an employer from treating an applicant less well because of an actual or perceived pregnancy.
New York State expressly states that an employer may not refuse to hire an applicant because the applicant is pregnant. New York City guidance likewise identifies refusing to hire an otherwise qualified pregnant applicant based on assumptions about future absences as unlawful discrimination.
An employer cannot make the decision for the applicant by assuming that the work is too demanding, unsafe, inconvenient, or incompatible with having a child.
What Evidence May Show That Pregnancy Caused the Offer to Be Rescinded?
Employers rarely admit that they withdrew an offer because of pregnancy. The reason may instead be described as a change in business needs, a concern about availability, or a decision that another candidate was a "better fit."
Often the stated reason is pretext: a justification that is not the real reason for withdrawing the offer.
Evidence of pregnancy discrimination may include:
- The employer withdrew the offer shortly after learning about the pregnancy.
- The employer had previously praised the applicant or confirmed the starting date.
- A manager asked about maternity leave, childcare, commitment, travel, or the expected delivery date.
- The stated explanation changed over time.
- The position remained open or was offered to someone else.
- The employer suddenly questioned whether the applicant could perform duties it had already discussed.
- The employer rejected a request for a pregnancy-related accommodation without a meaningful discussion.
- Emails or text messages connect the decision to the pregnancy, anticipated leave, or staffing concerns.
In pregnancy hiring cases, the strongest evidence is often the change that occurs after disclosure. An applicant may have completed several interviews, received positive feedback, discussed a start date, and accepted the offer. If the employer's position changes immediately after learning about the pregnancy, that sequence deserves careful examination.
Direct pregnancy-related comments are not required. Close timing, a false or changing explanation, hiring someone else for the position, or departures from the employer's normal hiring process may support an inference that pregnancy affected the decision.
Can an Employer Rescind a Conditional Job Offer?
No. Calling an offer "conditional" does not permit pregnancy discrimination.
An employer may enforce lawful conditions that apply consistently to applicants, but it cannot use a medical examination, physical test, start-date requirement, or background-check process as a pretext for rejecting a pregnant applicant.
What Should You Do If Your Job Offer Was Withdrawn After You Disclosed Your Pregnancy?
Preserve the evidence before it disappears:
- Save the offer letter, job posting, emails, text messages, interview notes, and onboarding documents.
- Write down when and how the employer learned about the pregnancy.
- Record exactly what was said about pregnancy, leave, availability, travel, physical duties, or childcare.
- Ask the employer to confirm the reason for withdrawing the offer in writing.
- Preserve proof that the position remained available or was filled by another applicant.
- Speak with a New York pregnancy discrimination lawyer before sending accusations, signing a release, or allowing a filing deadline to expire.
Different federal, state, and city filing deadlines may apply, and some administrative deadlines are shorter than the time allowed to file in court.
Do not secretly access files or systems you are not authorized to use. Preserve only information you lawfully possess.
Can You Bring a Claim Even Though You Never Started the Job?
Yes. Employment discrimination laws protect applicants as well as current employees. A person may have a claim even if the employer withdrew the offer before the first day of work.
Potential remedies may include lost wages, emotional distress damages, attorney's fees, and other relief depending on the law and the facts. The employer's reason, the available evidence, the expected compensation, and what the applicant earned afterward can all affect the claim.
Our Experience With Pregnancy Discrimination Cases
We have represented both job applicants whose offers were rescinded after they disclosed a pregnancy and employees who were fired after disclosing a pregnancy. We litigate these cases when necessary, but not every case needs or should be filed. Our litigation experience and reputation with employers, defense firms, and insurance companies also allow many cases to be resolved before a lawsuit is filed.
$100,000 Pre-Lawsuit Settlement After a Job Offer Was Rescinded
William K. Phillips represented a pregnant New York applicant who interviewed for a manicurist position at a nail salon and received an offer for a job paying approximately $60,000 per year.
After accepting the offer and discussing her schedule and working hours, the applicant disclosed that she was pregnant. The company then withdrew the offer by email and told her that she could apply again after giving birth.
We presented the pregnancy discrimination claim at a private mediation and obtained a $100,000 settlement before filing a lawsuit.
The email was critical evidence because it directly connected the company's decision to the applicant's pregnancy. Most cases do not contain such an explicit written statement. When they do not, timing, changed explanations, pregnancy-related comments, and departures from the normal hiring process may be used to show that the employer's stated explanation is not the real reason for its decision.
Jury Verdict for an Employee Fired After Disclosing Her Pregnancy
We represented Hui Lan Weng in Weng v. Fancy Lee Sushi Bar and Grill, Inc. Ms. Weng was removed from the work schedule and fired days after she disclosed her pregnancy.
Following a three-day trial, a federal jury in the Eastern District of New York found that the employer discriminated against Ms. Weng in violation of Title VII and the New York State Human Rights Law. The jury awarded her $26,000 in back pay. The court subsequently awarded $43,332.80 in attorneys' fees and $7,721.84 in costs, resulting in a total judgment of $77,054.64.
Federal and New York law may allow a prevailing employee to recover reasonable attorneys' fees and costs from the employer.
Can You Win a Pregnancy Discrimination Case If You Did Not Lose Much in Wages?
Yes. Limited wage loss does not prevent an employee or applicant from bringing or succeeding in a pregnancy discrimination claim.
In the two matters described above, the clients had limited lost wages. We obtained a jury verdict in one case and a $100,000 settlement before filing a lawsuit in the other.
The value and viability of a pregnancy discrimination case depend on more than lost wages. The evidence, the employer's conduct, emotional harm, available remedies, applicable law, litigation risk, and potential recovery of attorneys' fees and costs may also matter. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome in another case.
Speak With a Pregnancy Discrimination Lawyer
Phillips & Associates, PLLC represents employees and job applicants in New York pregnancy discrimination cases. Since 2011, we have recovered more than $360 million for employees, including millions for workers subjected to pregnancy discrimination.
If an employer withdrew your job offer after learning that you were pregnant, call (866) 229-9441 or contact us online for a free consultation. There are no attorney's fees unless we recover compensation for you.