We are about a month away from the holiday shopping season, many retailers are hiring in earnest. In fact, between now and Thanksgiving day, thousands of temporary employees will be hired to handle the expected influx of merchandise and shoppers. Since many retailers depend on the holiday season to shore up their balance books (hence Black Friday), additional employees are instrumental to a retailer’s success.
In the coming weeks, our blog posts will focus on a number of things temporary workers should know that could affect their future employment, such as working “off the clock” and asking for time off. It is the questions that come from these that commonly scare temporary employees. Because of how much a holiday job may be to a temp worker, they may be taken advantage of by unscrupulous employers. Nevertheless, employers must follow the law, and should not intimidate employees into foregoing their legal rights.
As such, this post will focus on a couple of things pregnant employees and job seekers should know about before accepting a holiday job offer.
Know the size of your company – Knowing the size of your company can help you understand whether federal anti-pregnancy discrimination laws may apply. Generally speaking, companies that have 50 or more employees must adhere to federal law. So if you work for a large retailer, chances are that it will be covered under these laws.
Don’t be afraid to ask for time off – Invariably, pregnant workers will deal with the aches, pains and nausea that comes with pregnancy. Because of this, it is important to speak up about your need for time off or to have a flexible schedule. More importantly, you should not be afraid of being fired for asking to have your schedule adjusted just in case.
If you have additional questions about your rights as a pregnant employee, an experienced employment law attorney can help.