Several federal laws specifically protect the rights of working women. These statutes pertain to pregnancy, nursing babies, sexual discrimination and harassment, while others offer both genders protection for taking time off due to the birth of a child, adoption, foster care or caring for a spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition.
Working mothers and work-life balanceAs its name implies, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act bans discrimination due to pregnancy, childbirth or a related medical condition.
A company cannot refuse to hire a pregnant woman if she is able to perform the major functions of the job or due to prejudices of the enterprise, co-workers or clients. Under the law, pregnant employees must be provided with the same benefits as staff members with short-term disabilities. In addition, it is illegal to force a pregnant woman to resign or take a leave of absence.
For working mothers who nurse their babies, the Fair Labor Standards Act mandates a reasonable break time for nonexempt women to express breast milk. Businesses also are required to provide private, secluded places, other than restrooms, where the employees will be uninterrupted by co-workers and the public during these times.
Another law, the Family and Medical Leave Act, greatly assists women, although it applies to men, too. Under FMLA, up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period is permitted for the birth and/or care of a child, including those who are placed in the home via adoption or state foster care. This leave must be taken within 12 months of the birth or placement. In addition, FMLA permits time off to care for a spouse, child or parent with a serious health condition. Eligible children must be younger than 18, unless they are incapable of self-care due to a mental or physical disability.
Civil rights at workTitle VII of the Civil Rights Act also offers protection at work for both genders by prohibiting discrimination, sexual harassment and retaliation.
The act also mandates similar pay for jobs similar in skill, responsibility and working conditions, which has been a major benefit for women, though they continue to lag behind men in pay scale.
Legitimate job-related standards and business practices permitting corporations to pay individuals differently include experience, job market conditions, a merit system based on performance, systems linking pay to seniority, incentive systems based upon quality or quantity of work, and pay grade maximum caps.
A 180-day statute of limitations to file a lawsuit concerning pay is in effect under the Civil Rights Act, though the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act amended the Civil Rights Act to require the statute of limitations to reset with each paycheck affected by pay discrimination.
Pay equality The Equal Pay Act forbids paying one gender less than another for substantially similar jobs. Discrimination based on gender in benefits and payments other than wages also is prohibited. The act forbids offering a different starting salary based solely on the associate’s pay at a previous employer, and it doesn’t allow companies to pay one gender less than the other because the average cost of employing that gender is greater.
There are seven primary exemptions that permit paying inequal wages. Companies are allowed to pay differently based upon geographic locations. Pay also can differ if the job at issue does not require equal skill regarding experience, training, education and ability.
Skill must be measured in terms of the requirements of the position, not the skills and qualifications of team members in the job.
Other exemptions hinge on whether the job requires unequal amounts of mental or physical exertion, if the position requires unequal responsibility – with responsibility defined as degree of accountability, amount of authority and consequences for poor performance – if there are dissimilar physical and/or hazardous working conditions, if the hiring company uses a bona fide incentive system based on production quantity or quality, or if differences are based on any nongender-related factor such as performance, a seniority system, longevity of service, demotion due to disciplinary actions, a merit system based on performance, or the completion of job-related training programs.
For women and men alike, it is always a good idea to be aware of workplace rights mandated by law.
Lynne Haggerman, M.S., is president/owner of Lynne Haggerman & Associates LLC, a Springfield firm specializing in management training, retained search, outplacement and human resource consulting. She can be reached at lynne@lynnehaggerman.com.
