Barry Miller Quoted in the Boston Globe
“Several Laws Protect Pregnant Workers on the Job”

“Several Laws Protect Pregnant Workers on the Job”

Barry Miller was quoted in the Boston Globe’s “Job Doc” column published on January 20, 2008. The article, “Several Laws Protect Pregnant Workers on the Job,” quotes Barry extensively in his response to the letter-writer who, after suffering an on the job injury while pregnant and ordered by several doctors not to return to work, was told that when and if she is deemed fit to return to work there will no longer be a job for her.

Barry notes, “There are a number of state and federal laws that may protect an employee's job when she takes leave as a result of pregnancy or work-related injury. Both the Massachusetts Maternity Leave Act and the federal Family and Medical Leave Act require most employers to allow eligible employees to take leave following the birth of a child and require employers to restore a new mother to her prior position after her leave. However, those statutes only extend protections to employees for a discrete period of time - eight weeks under the Massachusetts statute and twelve weeks under the federal statute." Furthermore, Barry states, "Statutes protecting individuals with disabilities may give you additional rights. Both the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and the Massachusetts antidiscrimination statute, Chapter 151B, require employers to provide reasonable accommodations to an employee with a disability or handicap. Whether a condition rises to the level of a handicap or disability is often a very complex question. Typically, pregnancy itself is not considered a disability unless there are substantial complications. However, the fact that you were injured on the job may be significant because employees who are injured at work are protected under the Massachusetts antidiscrimination statute, even if their injuries are not otherwise severe enough to constitute a handicap or disability. Depending on the circumstances, your employer may be required to provide additional leave as an accommodation to allow you to recover and return to work."