Pregnancy discrimination complaints at record levels

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, complaints of pregnancy discrimination hiked up by 14% between 2006 and 2007. There has been a 40% increase over the last decade, reports the National Partnership for Women and Families.
The Wall Street Journal suggests that this is party because women are increasingly working later into their pregnancies, including new advocacy being created for pregnant women and women with children.
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act can’t straight up protect women from being fired or not hired, but if they’re singled out based on their pregnancy, they’re liable to take action. And unfortunately, the Family and Medical Leave Act poses a problem: while unpaid maternity leave is required, it doesn’t doesn’t require paid maternity leave. (California and Washington are exceptions.)
Regardless, it’s good to see women taking more action on pregnancy discrimination; we’re getting closer to accurate numbers on how prevalent it really is in the U.S. and maybe, just maybe, our family-friendly policies will someday get friendlier. Check out MomsRising and the National Advocates for Pregnant Women has a great list of more resources about pregnant women and mother’s rights at work.