You think the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is getting past a Republican filibuster in the Senate? Very funny.
New York City passed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act in 2013, giving pregnant workers the right to reasonable accommodations like water breaks and light duty as long as it's possible without undue hardship to their employers. Some companies are not following the law, though. Like Fierman Produce:
... when Ms. Valencia told her supervisors in July that she had a high-risk pregnancy, they told her she could work only without restrictions, she said. After taking time off to try to negotiate an accommodation with the company, she returned when her co-workers volunteered to handle the heavy machinery and lifting.
In August, she said, her supervisors insisted that she work overtime. Ms. Valencia felt so ill after two lengthy shifts that she went to the hospital and then to her doctor, who gave her the letter [saying she could not work overtime] that she handed to her boss.
They fired her rather than let her work eight-hour days, a reasonable accommodation if ever there was one. Because New York City has the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, Angelica Valencia has a chance at something like justice—or at least a chance at getting back pay. As the city spreads the word about the law to employers and workers, and perhaps after a few well-publicized cases of employers getting in trouble for breaking the law, there should be fewer cases of women treated as Angelica Valencia was treated.
New York City isn't alone, but unfortunately it isn't the standard, either. Several states and cities have passed versions of the law, but like so many other basic workplace protections, Republicans in Congress have blocked the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act at the federal level.
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As Republicans try to win by whipping up fear of Ebola and terrorism, voters need to know that what the GOP wants to distract them from is bills like the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.