If you are pregnant, it is illegal for an employer to discriminate against you. If you go in for an interview, for example, they cannot decide not to hire you simply because you are pregnant. If you are already employed and you tell your boss that you have recently become pregnant, they cannot decide to fire you as a result. This is a violation of your rights as an employee.
One important thing to note, though, is that pregnancy discrimination can also happen if you are of childbearing age. In this sense, you could face pregnancy discrimination even though you are not pregnant yourself.
Why would this discrimination occur?
A good example of this is if a company is hiring and they have two candidates. One candidate is 25 years old and she recently got married. The other candidate does not have the same level of qualifications, education, or demonstrated skills and abilities, but they are old enough that they are not of childbearing age.
The hiring manager, not wanting to face the potential of maternity leave in the future, may decide to hire the older employee who is not going to become pregnant. But this could spark claims of discrimination from the younger applicant, who can rightfully claim that they were far more qualified for the position. They feel that they were only denied a job that they deserved because of the potential that they could become pregnant in the future, a clear violation of their rights.
Taking legal steps
Issues like this do happen from time to time, and they can be very frustrating for employees. It is crucial that those involved understand exactly what legal steps to take and what rights and options they have.