Counsel Comments: In some cases, however, pregnant women lose their claims because they fail to prove their case or ask for accommodations beyond the minimum provided by law. The following two cases illustrate the problems often associated with winning pregnancy discrimination lawsuits.

In one case, a woman 19 weeks pregnant asked for reassignment to a job that did not require heavy lifting. She was given a job at the service desk, which required evening and weekend work. She was unable to work those hours because of family conflicts and declined the assignment. The company fired her and she sued for pregnancy discrimination. She lost her case because she failed to prove a disparate impact (i.e., that other employees who were reassigned for medical reasons and objected were not terminated). The judge commented that the law does not guarantee that pregnant workers not suffer any adverse employment decisions. He wrote that "the law only protects against employment decisions which, for discriminatory reasons, are different from decisions relating to persons who are not pregnant."

In another case, a female salesperson suffered severe morning sickness during her first trimester. As a result, she was often late in reporting to work. The woman was placed on part-time status but continued to report to work late. After several warnings and being placed on probation, the company fired her. Although she was fired one day before taking maternity leave, the court ruled that that fact did not warrant a finding of liability because the company was free to fire anyone who could not work due to a medical condition, whether pregnant or otherwise.

Tip: The second case is significant as a teaching model for several reasons. The woman salesperson's case might have been strengthened if she had found other, nonpregnant workers who had not been fired due to excessive absences or right before taking a leave of absence. And although the company was guilty of poor timing, the woman failed to introduce significant evidence at the trial, such as damaging statements made to her indicating that the reason given for the firing (i.e., excessive lateness) was really pretextual (i.e., unfounded) and offered just as an excuse to terminate because she was pregnant. Apparently, given the absence of important comparisons and other evidence, she lost her case. This illustrates the kind of evidence you must be able to offer if your lawyer is to be successful in proving a pregnancy discrimination case.