If You Are Pregnant, Make Sure You Have the Following Information in Your Doctor’s Notebook
Pregnant women workers often need changes in their jobs — for example, less lifting — but asking for a doctor’s note about this can backfire. To protect your work, don’t ask for a note too early and make sure your doctor knows what it needs to say.
The New York Times reports that employees were fired or suspended from work without pay based on an inaccurate doctor’s note:
Vague or comprehensive medical guidelines can exacerbate the problem because some employers use them to suggest that a woman cannot do her job and therefore should be sent on unpaid leave during pregnancy.
“After she exhausted all maternity leave, even before her baby was born, she was threatened with losing her job or fired,” said Sharon Terman, director of the work and family program at the Legal Center of the Legal Aid and Employment Society. …
Some of the doctors’ notes are of a cautionary nature, suggesting that a pregnant patient will need housing before she does so. Others look for conditions that cannot be provided, such as asking the child care worker not to come into contact with children with colds.
Doctors must learn to write letters that better protect employees, says a commentary published in Obstetrics and Gynecology . As long as you are a patient, you can:
- Ask a doctor for a certificate only when you are sure that your job needs to be changed, and not “just in case.”
- Make sure the note doesn’t mention things that are impossible or that your employer might find incompatible with your job.
- Make sure the note states what you can and cannot do so that your employer understands that you can still perform the basic functions of your job.
Meanwhile, it would be nice to brush up on your rights as a pregnant worker . Employers must adjust to your pregnancy as well as the temporary disability of other employees, and you have some remedies .
Doctors’ Recommendations for Pregnant Women May Backfire, Experts Warn | The newspaper “New York Times