Pregnancy Discrimination Lawyers in New Jersey

Becoming a parent should be one of the most exciting chapters of your life. It should not be the moment your employer decides you are less committed, less capable, or less deserving of the job you have worked hard to earn. Yet pregnancy discrimination remains one of the most common forms of workplace mistreatment, and it often arrives quietly. A promotion that suddenly goes to someone else. A performance review that turns critical right after you share your news. A request for a stool, extra water breaks, or a lighter lifting load that is met with a suggestion that maybe you should just go on leave.

At Jung & Jaeger Law, we represent New Jersey employees who have been treated unfairly because of pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or a related medical condition. Both New Jersey and federal law give you strong protections, and New Jersey's are among the broadest in the country.

What Pregnancy Discrimination Looks Like

Pregnancy discrimination can happen at any stage, from the job interview through your return from leave. It includes refusing to hire someone because she is pregnant or might become pregnant, firing or demoting an employee after she announces a pregnancy, cutting hours or reassigning an employee to less desirable work, and passing someone over for advancement because of assumptions about how motherhood will affect her dedication. It also includes denying reasonable accommodations, forcing an employee onto unpaid leave when she is ready and able to keep working, harassing an employee about her pregnancy or her need to pump, and punishing someone for taking the leave the law guarantees. Employers rarely announce that pregnancy is the reason for their decision, so these cases often turn on timing, inconsistent explanations, and how others were treated. That is where an experienced attorney makes a difference.

Your Rights Under New Jersey Law

The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD) expressly protects employees on the basis of pregnancy and breastfeeding. Pregnancy under the law includes childbirth and medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth, including recovery. Unlike most federal laws, the NJLAD applies to employers of every size, so even if you work for a small business with only a handful of employees, you are protected.

The NJLAD requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees who are pregnant or recovering from childbirth when they need them, unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the business. Accommodations can include bathroom breaks, breaks for increased water intake, periodic rest, help with manual labor, job restructuring, a modified work schedule, and temporary transfer to less strenuous or hazardous work. The law also requires employers to accommodate breastfeeding employees with reasonable break time and a suitable private location, other than a restroom stall, reasonably close to the work area. An employer may not penalize you for asking for any of these accommodations.

New Jersey also offers job-protected leave and wage replacement for growing families. The New Jersey Family Leave Act provides up to twelve weeks of job-protected leave to bond with a new child for eligible employees of employers with thirty or more employees. New Jersey's Temporary Disability Insurance program can replace a portion of your wages while you are medically unable to work due to pregnancy or childbirth, and Family Leave Insurance can provide paid benefits while you bond with your baby.

Your Rights Under Federal Law

Federal law adds another layer of protection. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which is part of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibits employers with fifteen or more employees from discriminating on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions in hiring, firing, pay, assignments, promotions, benefits, and every other term of employment.

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which took effect in 2023, requires employers with fifteen or more employees to reasonably accommodate known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions unless the accommodation would cause undue hardship. Importantly, an employer cannot force you to take leave if another reasonable accommodation would allow you to keep working, and it cannot retaliate against you for making a request.

The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act gives most employees the right to reasonable break time and a private space, other than a bathroom, to express breast milk for up to one year after their child's birth. The Family and Medical Leave Act provides up to twelve weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for eligible employees of employers with fifty or more employees, and pregnancy-related complications may also qualify for protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Retaliation Is Also Illegal

Many of our clients come to us not because of the first thing their employer did, but because of what happened after they spoke up. If you complained about pregnancy discrimination, requested an accommodation, or took protected leave, and your employer responded with discipline, a demotion, a sudden change in schedule, or termination, you may have a separate and powerful retaliation claim.

What You May Be Able to Recover

A successful pregnancy discrimination claim can result in back pay for wages and benefits you lost, front pay or reinstatement, compensation for emotional distress, and in appropriate cases punitive damages meant to punish serious misconduct. Your employer may also be ordered to pay your attorney's fees. Claims under the NJLAD are not subject to the damages caps that limit many federal claims, which is one reason New Jersey law is so valuable to workers in this state.

Deadlines Matter

The law gives you a limited window to act. Claims under the NJLAD generally must be filed within two years. Claims under federal laws such as Title VII and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act generally require filing a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within 300 days in New Jersey. Waiting too long can permanently end your right to recover, so it is wise to speak with an attorney as soon as you suspect something is wrong.

What You Can Do Now

If you believe you are being treated differently because of your pregnancy, start keeping notes of what happens and when, including who said what and who was present. Put accommodation requests in writing and save any responses. Hold on to performance reviews, emails, and text messages that reflect how you were treated before and after your employer learned of your pregnancy. And before you resign, sign a severance agreement, or agree to take leave you did not ask for, talk to a lawyer. Those decisions can affect your rights in ways that are hard to undo.

How Jung & Jaeger Law Can Help

We are a plaintiff-side employment and civil rights firm, which means we represent workers and never employers. We handle pregnancy discrimination cases on a contingency basis, so you pay no attorney's fee unless we recover for you. From our office in Haddonfield, we represent employees throughout New Jersey, and we will take the time to understand your story, explain your options in plain language, and fight for the outcome you deserve.

If you have been fired, demoted, denied an accommodation, or pushed aside because of your pregnancy, contact Jung & Jaeger Law today for a free and confidential consultation.