The fact pattern I see most often goes like this: an employee announces her pregnancy, asks for a pregnancy-related accommodation, or takes maternity leave. The employer’s behavior changes. Performance reviews that had been positive suddenly turn critical. Schedules get cut. Roles get reassigned. And within weeks or a few months of the pregnancy disclosure or the return from leave, she’s terminated, demoted, or pushed out.

If that pattern matches yours, we should talk. Pregnancy discrimination is one of the most common employment claims I see, and the legal timeline is often clean enough to make it one of the most winnable.

I’m Warren Astbury. I’m a Harvard Law graduate (2009), I’ve tried more than 50 cases to verdict, and I represent Michigan employees — only employees, never employers — in pregnancy discrimination cases.

Schedule a Free Case Evaluation → Or call 814-821-1140

Start here: the three-question pregnancy discrimination intake filter

1. You were pregnant, recovering from childbirth, or had recently been pregnant — and your employer knew it, or knew you’d taken related leave.

2. You were fired, demoted, disciplined, denied a promotion, or forced to resign — within a close time window after the employer learned of your pregnancy, your accommodation request, or your return from leave.

3. You have evidence. Documents showing the pregnancy announcement timing, comparator evidence about how non-pregnant coworkers were treated, performance reviews from before and after, emails, texts, or witnesses.

If those three are true, call 814-821-1140 or request a free case evaluation →.

Three federal laws protect pregnant workers. Michigan law adds more.

Unlike some employment claims that hinge on a single statute, pregnancy discrimination cases usually involve two or three federal laws working together, plus Michigan’s own anti-discrimination law. Each has slightly different coverage — so even if one doesn’t apply to your employer, another might.

1. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA)

The PDA is a 1978 amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It prohibits workplace discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.

Under the PDA, it is unlawful to discriminate against you in any aspect of employment — hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, training, benefits (including leave and health insurance), or any other terms or conditions of employment — because of pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition.

The PDA also protects you from discrimination based on having or contemplating an abortion, or choosing not to have one. Title VII, as amended by the PDA, makes it unlawful for an employer to pressure you into or out of an abortion to keep your job or advance your career.

When the PDA applies: employers with 15 or more employees. If your employer is smaller, Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act may still apply.

2. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

The FMLA is a separate federal law that provides 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for the birth of a child, for bonding time after placement of a child for adoption or foster care, and for your own serious health condition (including pregnancy-related conditions like prenatal care, morning sickness that causes incapacity, and medically required bed rest). The FMLA covers both parents — fathers can use FMLA leave for the birth of a child and to care for a spouse incapacitated by pregnancy or childbirth.

The FMLA only applies to employers with 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius of your work location, and you must have worked at least 1,250 hours over the previous 12 months.

If your employer retaliated against you for taking or requesting FMLA leave during or after a pregnancy, you may have overlapping claims under the FMLA and the PDA. See the FMLA Retaliation page → for more on that.

3. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

Pregnancy itself is not classified as a “disability” under the ADA. But many pregnancy-related medical conditions are, because they substantially limit one or more major life activities.

Examples of pregnancy-related conditions that courts and the EEOC have recognized as ADA-covered disabilities include:

Disorders of the uterus or cervix
Anemia
Sciatica
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Abnormal heart rhythms
Severe swelling, particularly in the legs
Depression
Gestational diabetes
Nausea severe enough to cause dehydration
Pelvic inflammation
Symphysis pubis dysfunction
High-risk pregnancy conditions requiring medical management

If your pregnancy-related condition qualifies as a disability, you’re entitled to reasonable accommodations under the ADA — and your employer’s failure to accommodate, or retaliation for requesting accommodation, is unlawful. See the ADA Accommodation Retaliation page → for more.

Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA) prohibits sex-based discrimination, which includes pregnancy discrimination, and applies to employers with one or more employees — a much broader coverage than the federal PDA. If your employer is too small for federal law, ELCRA may still apply.

What pregnancy discrimination actually looks like

Some fact patterns are textbook. If any of these match your situation, call.

Terminated after announcing your pregnancy. The employer knew you were pregnant; within weeks or a few months, you were fired.
Demoted after a pregnancy-related leave. You came back to a reduced role, a lower title, or a position stripped of responsibilities.
Job duties changed without your consent. The employer reassigned you to a “safer” or “lighter” role because of your pregnancy — even if the employer believed they were acting in your best interest, that’s usually unlawful unless you asked for the change.
Denied pregnancy-related accommodations. You asked for something reasonable — a chair, bathroom breaks, a reduced lifting requirement, time off for prenatal appointments — and the employer refused.
Forced to quit because of pregnancy-related harassment. Comments, hostility, or intolerable changes in working conditions that a reasonable person would find impossible to endure. If you resigned under those conditions, it may legally count as a constructive discharge.
Fired while on maternity leave — for a reason unrelated to the leave itself but timed suspiciously, or presented with a shifting rationale.
Fired for breastfeeding or pumping at work. Discrimination based on a breastfeeding schedule or pumping needs is a form of pregnancy discrimination.
Denied hiring because you were pregnant, had recently given birth, or might become pregnant.

Not every one of these leads to a winning case. The evidence has to be there. But if you recognize yourself in any of these patterns, a free consultation is worth the 15 minutes.

The comparator evidence framework

Most pregnancy discrimination cases come down to one question: how were non-pregnant employees treated differently?

The law doesn’t require the employer to admit the pregnancy was the reason. It requires proof the employer treated you worse because of it — and we prove that by comparing you to similarly-situated coworkers who weren’t pregnant.

The comparator questions I’ll work through with you:

Did any non-pregnant coworkers make similar or worse performance errors without being fired?
Were any non-pregnant coworkers given leave, accommodations, or flexibility without the same friction you faced?
Did the employer’s written performance policies get applied to you differently than to others?
Did the performance complaints against you only start after the pregnancy announcement?
Did non-pregnant coworkers who returned from other types of extended leave (medical, military, bereavement) keep their positions?

Building out that comparator evidence is most of the work in a pregnancy case. It’s labor-intensive, which is one reason I’m selective about the cases I take — I only take cases where I think the comparator evidence will hold up.

Damages in a pregnancy discrimination case

If you win a pregnancy discrimination case, the damages available depend on which laws your case is brought under. Under the PDA and Title VII, you can typically recover:

Back pay — lost wages and benefits from termination through trial
Front pay — lost wages and benefits after trial, if reinstatement isn’t feasible
Compensatory damages — emotional pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, injury to professional standing, anxiety, humiliation, and related harms
Punitive damages — to punish willful or reckless conduct (capped under federal law, but sometimes uncapped under state law)
Attorney’s fees and costs — paid by the employer if you prevail

For how back pay, front pay, and compensatory damages actually get calculated, see the Wrongful Termination hub →.

Representative pregnancy discrimination case patterns

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Each case is different. The following are representative fact patterns from cases I’ve handled.

Won a federal jury trial involving a woman terminated when she returned from maternity leave.
Multiple high six-figure settlements in single-plaintiff lawsuits involving unlawful pregnancy and related discrimination.
Federal judgment for an employee terminated after requesting additional pregnancy-related leave.
Large settlement against a hospital for terminating an employee who missed work while receiving treatment for a pregnancy-related serious health condition.

See more representative case frameworks on the Results page →.

Frequently asked questions

My employer is small — fewer than 15 employees. Am I out of luck?

Not necessarily. The federal PDA and Title VII require 15 or more employees, but Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act applies to employers with as few as one employee. Even if the federal laws don’t cover you, state law may.

Is my employer required to offer maternity leave?

It depends. Federal law (the FMLA) requires unpaid, job-protected maternity leave only for employers with 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius, and only for eligible employees (12 months of service, 1,250 hours). Employers below that threshold are not required to provide maternity leave, though many do voluntarily. Some state and local laws impose additional requirements. If you were denied maternity leave, we’ll work through which laws apply to your situation.

The test is whether the condition substantially limits one or more major life activities — working, standing, walking, concentrating, sleeping, lifting, breathing, and many others count. You don’t need a formal diagnosis; you need a treating healthcare provider’s documentation of the condition and its effects. A consultation can help determine whether your situation likely qualifies.

Does the PDA cover discrimination for having an abortion?

Yes. Title VII, as amended by the PDA, protects you from being fired, demoted, or otherwise discriminated against for having, contemplating, or choosing not to have an abortion. Federal courts have confirmed this for decades. (Doe v. C.A.R.S. Protection Plus, Inc., 527 F.3d 358 (3d Cir. 2008); Turic v. Holland Hospitality, Inc., 85 F.3d 1211 (6th Cir. 1996).) This coverage applies regardless of Michigan’s specific state laws on abortion access.

How long do I have to file a pregnancy discrimination claim?

Under the federal PDA, you generally must file a charge with the EEOC within 180 days of the discriminatory act — extended to 300 days in Michigan because the state has its own civil rights enforcement agency (Michigan Department of Civil Rights). After the EEOC issues a Notice of Right to Sue, you have 90 days to file a lawsuit. State-law claims under ELCRA have a longer statute of limitations (three years) but their own procedural requirements. Don’t wait. Deadlines in employment cases are strict and not forgiving.

I was forced to quit. Can I still have a claim?

Sometimes. If your working conditions became so intolerable that a reasonable person would have felt forced to resign, the law treats your resignation as a “constructive discharge” — the legal equivalent of being fired. Constructive discharge cases are harder than straight termination cases, but they happen. The evidence requirements are demanding, and the timeline still matters. We’ll talk through it in the consultation.

Ready to talk?

If you were fired, demoted, denied accommodation, or pushed out because of your pregnancy, pregnancy-related condition, or return from maternity leave, I want to hear about it. The consultation is free, takes 15-30 minutes, and you’ll leave with an honest answer about whether you have a case I’d take on.

Schedule a Free Case Evaluation →

Or call 814-821-1140 directly.

Astbury Law, PLLC 607 Shelby Street, 7th Floor, #1115 Detroit, MI 48226 814-821-1140 · warren@astburylaw.com

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. The information on this page is for general educational purposes and is not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by reading this page or submitting a form.