So sunday morning on CBS News show, they were discussing discrimination on Pregnant women. I was trying to talk to my wife about this. This is a complex issue. I get that women are discriminated against for being pregnant and then having kids. The example in the CBS News story was a Corrections Officer in Nevada. She was told if they had to make accommodations for her because she was pregnant, they wouldn't, and she should look for another job. Some of the common accommodations are more restroom breaks, being able to have more access to water, etc. I hate most discussions on this issue, because they never get down to the details, they are just blanket positions and arguments.
So lets talk. I get the more restroom breaks and water, that should be fine. What if the job is security guard though and she is the only have one on duty? I think my point is, what if the pregnancy makes it so the woman cannot do her job as well. For example, lets say that this woman (from the example above) was a guard and had to watch a post. She cannot leave that post unless someone is there to spell her. With more needed restroom breaks, the corrections team has to expend extra resources to spell her. If there are options, jobs she could do, the smart thing would be to move her to that other option. For example, in administration, she could take a restroom break and there is no need to have someone watch her post. In publicly funded jobs, I have more sympathy and expect that women should not be discriminated against because they are pregnant. Maybe that's not a proper opinion, more likely it is idealistic. Like for example, what if a woman was a beat cop and the pregnancy made it harder for her to do her job (I know some women, a lot of women, that this wouldn't change anything, but there are some it would).
Keep in mind, this isn't for women being fired because they are pregnant. I think if you fire someone just because their pregnant, that is wrong. If you can show that it affected their job, then maybe that's an argument.
I'll give you a story where it would frustrate you. My colleague has a ten person firm. They provided health insurance because one associate got pregnant. That associate got the insurance, then took 12 weeks maternity leave (8 weeks full pay). At the end of the 12 weeks, she quit to stay at home and raise the child. Obviously, my colleague got effed.
This is a complex issue. I have not idea how to solve it. The idealistic way of just saying, you have to accommodate, etc. etc. won't work and will have major negative impact for women trying to get jobs with small businesses. Another issue is that everybody is different. You may be willing to make special accommodations for a pregnant female employee because you desperately want to keep her, and then there are others where you wouldn't.
This is just difficult. Anyone have any ideas how others do it or how their business does it. Obviously for desk jobs, this isn't as difficult.
So lets talk. I get the more restroom breaks and water, that should be fine. What if the job is security guard though and she is the only have one on duty? I think my point is, what if the pregnancy makes it so the woman cannot do her job as well. For example, lets say that this woman (from the example above) was a guard and had to watch a post. She cannot leave that post unless someone is there to spell her. With more needed restroom breaks, the corrections team has to expend extra resources to spell her. If there are options, jobs she could do, the smart thing would be to move her to that other option. For example, in administration, she could take a restroom break and there is no need to have someone watch her post. In publicly funded jobs, I have more sympathy and expect that women should not be discriminated against because they are pregnant. Maybe that's not a proper opinion, more likely it is idealistic. Like for example, what if a woman was a beat cop and the pregnancy made it harder for her to do her job (I know some women, a lot of women, that this wouldn't change anything, but there are some it would).
Keep in mind, this isn't for women being fired because they are pregnant. I think if you fire someone just because their pregnant, that is wrong. If you can show that it affected their job, then maybe that's an argument.
I'll give you a story where it would frustrate you. My colleague has a ten person firm. They provided health insurance because one associate got pregnant. That associate got the insurance, then took 12 weeks maternity leave (8 weeks full pay). At the end of the 12 weeks, she quit to stay at home and raise the child. Obviously, my colleague got effed.
This is a complex issue. I have not idea how to solve it. The idealistic way of just saying, you have to accommodate, etc. etc. won't work and will have major negative impact for women trying to get jobs with small businesses. Another issue is that everybody is different. You may be willing to make special accommodations for a pregnant female employee because you desperately want to keep her, and then there are others where you wouldn't.
This is just difficult. Anyone have any ideas how others do it or how their business does it. Obviously for desk jobs, this isn't as difficult.
