Is it legal for my employer to suddenly cut my work hours while im pregnant?
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Is it legal for my employer to suddenly cut my work hours while im pregnant?
I have been put on restrictions due to risks of my pregnancy however the only changes that were made were minor. The following no standing for long periods of time, the time that I come in and leave, the amount of lifting I do at work as well. I looked at my pay stub and saw that I only had 65 hours and they claim that my total working hours have changed due to ‘business changes’ but I know for a fact that I am the only employee who’s hours are being cut. I have proof that we are no fully staffed meaning there are plenty of hours available and positions open so I feel as if I am being personally targeted because of my pregnancy. I just want to make sure that this is legal for them to be able to all of a sudden start cutting my hours when I have a child on the way how am I supposed to provide, I need help
Asked on April 15, 2016 under Employment Labor Law, North Carolina
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
They cannot cut your hours or take other action against you because you are pregnant. If your work restrictions limit how much you could work or prevent you from doing some parts of your job, they could make adjustments legally on that basis; but if you can work all hours and do all of your job, they can't take action against because you are pregnant. Of course, they could cut your hours for other, non-pregnancy related reasons, such as a decrease in their business, or if you'd had performance problems, but that does not appear to be the case. d on what you write, you may have suffered illegal discrimination on the basis of your gender (since only women get pregnant) or disability (pregnancy is generally treated as a temporary disability for employment purposes). You therefore may have a claim against your employer, and should contact the federal EEOC or your state equal/civil rights agency to discuss and possibly file a complaint.
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