Pregnancy should never put your job at risk.

The federal, state, and city anti-discrimination laws in New York are among the strongest in the country, and Dudani Law uses all of them. We represent employees across New York and New Jersey, and New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination is one of the most protective state statutes in the country. If your pregnancy, childbirth, recovery, lactation, or a related medical condition has been held against you at work, we want to hear from you.

What our clients typically experience

Our clients often shared good news and then watched everything change: assignments pulled, a reasonable accommodation denied, a layoff that arrived suspiciously soon. They are exhausted, protective of their families, and unsure of their rights. The law gives pregnant and new-parent employees more protection than most people realize, and we make sure they use all of it.

What Pregnancy Discrimination Looks Like

Pregnancy discrimination is any unfavorable treatment because of pregnancy, childbirth, recovery from childbirth, lactation, or a related medical condition. Common examples:

• Being passed over for a promotion or a high-profile assignment right after you announced your pregnancy.
• Being fired, laid off, or pushed out shortly after disclosing pregnancy or returning from maternity leave.
• Denial of straightforward accommodations like bathroom breaks, water breaks, a stool to sit on, light duty, or a modified schedule for prenatal appointments.
• Punishing or sidelining a worker who needs reasonable break time and a private space (not a bathroom) to pump breastmilk.
• Loss of clients, accounts, hours, or shifts after returning from parental leave.

Types of Pregnancy Discrimination Claims

Pregnancy discrimination claims under federal, New York, and New Jersey law take several recognized forms:

• Discriminatory termination, demotion, or refusal to hire because of pregnancy
• Failure to provide a reasonable accommodation under the PWFA, NYSHRL, NYCHRL, or NJLAD
• Unlawful penalization for requesting an accommodation, recognized expressly in New Jersey
• Lactation violations, including denial of break time or a private space to pump
• Interference with FMLA, paid prenatal, or parental leave
• Forced unpaid leave in place of an accommodation that would keep you on the job
• Pregnancy-based harassment and hostile work environment
• Discrimination based on related medical conditions, such as gestational diabetes or recovery from childbirth
• Caregiver discrimination on your return, protected under the NYCHRL
• Retaliation for complaining about any of the above

Signs You May Have a Claim

• Your assignments, shifts, or hours changed for the worse soon after your employer learned you were pregnant.
• A reasonable accommodation recommended by your doctor was denied with no real interactive discussion.
• You were written up, marked absent, or fired for time taken for prenatal appointments.
• You were told the team needs someone "more reliable," "more available," or "fully committed."
• You were pressured to take unpaid leave instead of being accommodated on the job.
• A manager made comments about your pregnancy, your "focus," or whether you would "really come back."

Where New York Law Goes Further

Federal Law: PDA, PWFA, and the PUMP Act

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act amends Title VII to bar pregnancy-based discrimination. The federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), effective June 27, 2023, requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations for known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless doing so is an undue hardship. The EEOC's final PWFA rule took effect June 18, 2024. On May 21, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana (State of Louisiana v. EEOC, No. 6:24-cv-00647) vacated the portion of that rule that treated elective abortion as a covered related medical condition. The rest of the PWFA, including accommodations for prenatal care, morning sickness, lifting limits, gestational diabetes, recovery, and lactation, remains fully in force. The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act adds protected break time and a private space (not a bathroom) for lactation.

New York State Human Rights Law (NYSHRL)

The NYSHRL covers employers of all sizes (since the 2019 amendments effective in 2020), removes the federal "severe or pervasive" hurdle for harassment, eliminates the Faragher-Ellerth defense, and allows uncapped compensatory and punitive damages.

New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL)

The NYCHRL covers employers with 4 or more employees, must be construed liberally and independently, uses a "treated less well" standard, and expressly protects sexual and reproductive health decisions and caregiver status. New York Labor Law 196-b, effective January 1, 2025, requires private employers to provide 20 hours of paid prenatal leave per 52-week period in addition to existing paid sick leave.

New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD)

The NJLAD applies to virtually every New Jersey employer. The New Jersey Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (2014) amended the LAD to add pregnancy, childbirth, recovery, and related medical conditions as protected, and the 2018 amendment added breastfeeding and lactation. The New Jersey Supreme Court in Delanoy v. Township of Ocean, 245 N.J. 384 (2021), recognized three distinct claims: unequal or unfavorable treatment, failure to accommodate, and unlawful penalization for requesting accommodation. Required accommodations under N.J.S.A. 10:5-12(s) include bathroom breaks, water breaks, periodic rest, assistance with manual labor, job restructuring, modified schedules, temporary transfers to less strenuous work, and reasonable break time and a private space (not a toilet stall) for expressing milk, unless the employer proves undue hardship. Damages under the NJLAD are uncapped.

What to Do If You Believe You Are Being Discriminated Against

• Put your accommodation request in writing. A short, dated email referencing your doctor's restriction is often enough. Under the PWFA and NJLAD the request can be informal.
• Save the response. Keep any email, message, or HR form that documents the request and reply.
• Document changes. Note any shift in assignments, shifts, hours, or treatment after you disclosed your pregnancy.
• Preserve records before leave. Forward key emails and download performance reviews; access often changes once leave starts.
• Talk to a lawyer before signing anything. If a separation or severance comes up after a pregnancy disclosure, have it reviewed first.

How to Document

• Your written accommodation request and the employer's response (or non-response).
• Doctor's notes specifying your medical needs and any work limitations.
• A timeline of when you disclosed pregnancy and when adverse changes occurred.
• Comparison evidence: how similarly situated employees without pregnancy were treated.
• Comments about your pregnancy, focus, or commitment, who said it, when, and who heard it.

Retaliation Is a Separate Violation

Retaliation against employees who request an accommodation, take leave, complain about pregnancy discrimination, or participate in an investigation is independently unlawful under Title VII, the PWFA, the NYSHRL, the NYCHRL, and the NJLAD. You can win a retaliation case even if your underlying pregnancy claim does not succeed.

What You May Be Owed

• Back pay and front pay
• Reinstatement where appropriate
• Compensatory damages, including emotional distress (uncapped under the NYSHRL, NYCHRL, and NJLAD; capped under Title VII at $50,000 to $300,000 based on employer size)
• Punitive damages (uncapped under the NYCHRL and NJLAD; available under Title VII subject to the same caps)
• Reasonable attorneys' fees and costs

Why Clients Choose Dudani Law

• We know the accommodation playbook. We make sure your informal request triggered the employer's duties, and we show where it failed them.
• We use every law. The PDA, PWFA, PUMP Act, NYSHRL, NYCHRL, and NJLAD, plus New York's paid prenatal leave law.
• We act before leave changes everything. We help you preserve evidence and rights before access is cut off.
• No fee unless we win. We handle pregnancy discrimination cases on a contingency basis.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to formally announce my pregnancy before I am protected?

No. You are protected once the employer knows or reasonably should know. Accommodations are triggered by a request, and under the PWFA and the NJLAD that request can be informal. You do not need magic words. Saying "my doctor says I cannot lift more than 20 pounds" is a request.

How long do I have to act?

Federal claims through the EEOC: generally 300 days in both New York and New Jersey. NYSHRL: three years. NYCHRL: three years in court. NJLAD: two years to sue in New Jersey Superior Court, or 180 days to file with the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights. Deadlines are strict.

Can my employer punish me for asking for an accommodation or for complaining about how I was treated?

No. Retaliation is independently illegal under Title VII, the PWFA, the NYSHRL, the NYCHRL, and the NJLAD. You can win a retaliation case even if your underlying pregnancy claim does not succeed.

I work for a small company. Am I covered?

Probably yes. Title VII and the PWFA require 15 employees. The NYSHRL and the NJLAD apply regardless of size, so a worker at a five-person shop in Newark or a three-person studio in Brooklyn still has powerful state-law protection.