Pregnancy Discrimination Lawyers in New York City

Learn More About Your Rights

Under New York law, pregnancy discrimination is defined as treating a woman less favorably or less well because of her pregnancy. That can take many forms: a hostile work environment, an adverse employment action, or a failure to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy-related needs.

Examples of discrimination due to pregnancy can include:

• Termination tied to a pregnancy announcement or maternity leave
• Denial of a promotion or raise after disclosing pregnancy
• Denial of reasonable accommodations
• Derogatory comments about your pregnancy or your ability to do your job
• Pregnancy discrimination during the hiring process
• Denial of New York Paid Family Leave (NY PFL) or paid prenatal leave
• Retaliation after requesting accommodations or reporting discrimination
• Breastfeeding discrimination or denial of lactation accommodations at work
• Pregnancy harassment that creates a hostile work environment

Pregnancy discrimination isn’t limited to termination, demotion, or denial of accommodations. Pregnancy-related harassment can also create a hostile work environment.

Examples may include:

• Comments questioning whether a pregnant employee can still perform her job
• Repeated questions about childcare arrangements or whether the employee plans to return after giving birth
• Comments suggesting a pregnant employee is no longer committed to her career
• Questions such as, “Are you keeping the baby?” or “Do you know who the father is?”
• Remarks about weight gain, appearance, or pregnancy-related medical issues
• Pressure to begin leave earlier than medically necessary
• Repeated comments that a pregnant employee has become unreliable, emotional, distracted, or less capable
• Harassment related to breastfeeding, pumping, or lactation accommodations

Many pregnancy discrimination and harassment claims involve supervisors, managers, executives, business owners, physicians, or other individuals who influence schedules, assignments, promotions, compensation, or continued employment.

Discrimination may arise whether you’re trying to become pregnant, already pregnant, have recently given birth, or have returned from leave. Under New York State law, adverse actions connected to pregnancy, intent to become pregnant, recent pregnancy, or recent childbirth may support a claim. You don’t need to wait until you’ve been terminated to seek guidance.

Adverse employment actions may include:

• Failure to hire
• Firing or layoffs
• Demotion or unwanted transfer
• Failure to promote
• Reduced hours or denial of overtime
• Harassment
• Unequal pay
• Failure to provide reasonable accommodations

If you believe you are being discriminated against at work because of your pregnancy, contact our pregnancy discrimination lawyers in NYC.

Learn how to prove your case

One of the most common indicators of pregnancy discrimination is timing. Employees often have strong performance reviews, positive feedback, and no disciplinary history until they announce a pregnancy, begin showing, request accommodations, take prenatal leave, take maternity leave, or return to work after childbirth. 

Phillips & Associates, PLLC frequently examines whether an adverse employment action occurred shortly after:

• Announcing a pregnancy
• Requesting a pregnancy-related accommodation
• Taking prenatal leave
• Taking maternity leave
• Returning from maternity leave
• Requesting lactation accommodations

In many cases, the employer’s explanation changes only after the pregnancy becomes known. While timing alone doesn’t prove discrimination, temporal proximity is often one of the first things employment lawyers evaluate when analyzing a pregnancy discrimination claim. It may be considered alongside direct statements, comparator evidence, performance records, policy deviations, and the employer’s stated reason for its action.

Pregnancy discrimination cases are often proven through timing, witness testimony, HR records, accommodation requests, leave records, performance reviews, and evidence showing how similarly situated employees were treated. Employment lawyers often begin by reconstructing a timeline.

Questions frequently include:

• When did the employer learn about the pregnancy?
• When was an accommodation requested?
• When did leave begin or end?
• When did the first negative review appear?
• When did responsibilities change?
• When did the termination or other adverse action occur?

A case review may also consider direct statements, written communications, performance history, personnel records, witness accounts, evidence of inconsistent explanations, and how the employer treated comparable employees who weren’t pregnant.

Employers are generally expected to engage in an interactive process or cooperative dialogue after receiving a pregnancy-related accommodation request.

Accommodation issues may involve:

• Modified schedules or additional breaks
• Temporary lifting or physical restrictions
• Time off for medical appointments
• Remote work arrangements
• Temporary reassignment
• Leave requests
• Lactation and pumping accommodations

An employer's refusal to discuss accommodations, failure to evaluate options, or immediate rejection of a request may become important evidence in a pregnancy discrimination case.

There’s no standard value for a pregnancy discrimination case. The value often depends on the employee’s compensation, the strength of the evidence, the type of discrimination involved, and the damages that resulted.

Employment lawyers frequently evaluate factors such as:

• Whether the employee was terminated, demoted, denied a promotion, forced to resign, or denied accommodations
• Lost wages, bonuses, commissions, equity, benefits, and future earning potential
• How long the employee remained unemployed and whether reasonable efforts were made to find comparable employment
• Emotional distress damages
• Whether there is evidence of retaliation, harassment, or a hostile work environment
• The severity, frequency, and duration of any hostile work environment
• The strength of the evidence, witness testimony, and documentation
• Whether punitive damages may be available
• The employer’s size, resources, and litigation risk

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces federal protections for pregnant workers, including the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the PWFA. Before filing a lawsuit under many federal laws, you may first need to file a charge of discrimination with the EEOC or a similar state or city agency. 

In addition, pregnancy discrimination is also prohibited under state and city law. Coverage, available remedies, deadlines, and employer obligations differ depending on which statute applies.

At the federal level:

• Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA): Prohibits discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions for employers with 15 or more employees.
• Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA): Effective June 2023, requires covered employers with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodation for known pregnancy-related limitations unless doing so causes undue hardship, and restricts forcing employees onto leave when another effective accommodation is available.
• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA): Provides eligible employees with up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for qualifying reasons, including childbirth and related care.

In New York, state and city laws provide additional protections:

• New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL): Applies to all employers and requires reasonable accommodation of pregnancy-related needs, treats pregnancy-related conditions as temporary disabilities, and provides uncapped compensatory and punitive damages.
• New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL): Covers employers with four or more employees, requires reasonable accommodation for pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions including lactation, and carries uncapped damages.
• New York Paid Prenatal Leave: Provides 20 paid hours per year for all private-sector employees for pregnancy-related health care services. It applies to all private employers regardless of size and is available from the first day of employment.
• New York Paid Family Leave: Provides eligible employees with paid, job-protected bonding leave after childbirth, along with anti-retaliation protections. Paid Family Leave for bonding begins after birth and is separate from prenatal leave and medical leave for pregnancy-related conditions.

Furthermore, New York law entitles employees to paid lactation breaks and requires employers to provide a private space for expressing breast milk.

Since multiple laws may apply to a single situation, it’s worth discussing your circumstances with a pregnancy discrimination attorney in New York City to understand which protections are available to you.

Phillips & Associates is an employment-only litigation firm representing employees in pregnancy discrimination, maternity leave, accommodation, retaliation, and other workplace matters. The firm combines extensive litigation experience with a practical, employee-focused approach.

Choose us for our:

• Extensive employment experience: We have handled more than 9,500 employment matters, litigated approximately 2,000 cases, and recovered more than $360 million for employees.
• Litigation-focused representation: Cases are prepared for negotiation, mediation, discovery, motion practice, trial, and appeal.
• Understanding power dynamics: Our matters frequently involve supervisors, executives, business owners, managers, physicians, law firm partners, and other individuals who influence compensation, schedules, promotions, assignments, and continued employment.
• Senior legal teams: Dedicated litigation teams handle matters from intake through resolution, with experience addressing workplace records, communications, leave documentation, and witness testimony.
• Trauma-informed approach: Every member of the firm receives trauma-informed training and approaches sensitive workplace matters with practical judgment and understanding.

Some of our representative matters include Deveaux v. Skechers, where the court recognized that reducing a pregnant employee from full-time to part-time status may constitute an adverse employment action, and Ortiz v. Gazes, where the firm defeated summary judgment in a pregnancy discrimination matter involving termination during maternity leave.

Our New York Pregnancy Discrimination Lawyers Can Help

If you’ve experienced pregnancy discrimination or been denied accommodations, our New York City  pregnancy discrimination attorneys can review your account, relevant documents, and workplace communications to assess whether you may have a viable claim. Acting promptly matters because filing deadlines and evidence-preservation concerns can apply, and waiting may limit what is available to you.

We handle every case on a contingency fee basis, so you pay nothing unless we win.

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