Pregnancy and The workplace...

[Vicariously]

High I was just wondering if anyone definitively knew whether or not there are laws that govern the safety of pregnant women in the workplace...I was looking online and didnt find any.

I know a friend of mine was recently forced into taking maternity leave because her job requires her to lift more than 30 lbs. The company was the one that initiated the leave and inforced it saying ti was policy. Just curious if lifting in the second trimester was part of a law or anything...

more importantly I have a friend who is a parapallegic and weighs nearly 200 lbs she requires an at home nurse and well basically they help her do things such as using a cathider which she has to transfer from her chair to bed to do so...and that requires assistance...

the reason I ask about that is because she recently asked me to come be her at home nurse which I had to decline...and she has employed a pregnant women to do so. As someone who has cared for my friend and knows that the job can be quite strenous I dont feel it is safe for the pregnant women to do so....

any input???

 

[white avenger]

A pregnant woman shouldn't be doing any heavy lifting, so I would say that the in home nurse job would be dangerous for both the mother and the child. If there are any specific laws concerning this, you could probably begin your search with OSHA. If there's nothing there, there might be information as to where to look. If all else fails, it would probably be worth a lawyer's fee to have the laws looked up and explained. Most law offices will do this sort of thing for a minimal fee, but it never hurts to ask the price beforehand.

Hope that helps.

 

[palabravampiress]

I don't know much about the laws concerning pregnant women, but I imagine the company policy has to do with not wanting to be sued if the woman loses her baby and then blames it on the type of manual labor she'd been performing at work. There are some laws about leave and whatnot, but a lot of women opt not to take that route because they need the money.

As far as whether or not people should be allowed to hire pregnant women or whether pregnant women should be able to do jobs requiring heavy lifting... I say it should be left to the discretion of the employer and the pregnant woman. I know that when I worked the concession stand scene, which was hourly, on-the-feet, heavy-lifting sometimes required sort of work, we tended to accommodate pregnant women as much as possible. It was just kind of a given that they needed the money, so the rest of us picked up the slack with the lifting and whatnot and turned a blind eye to more frequent break-taking. We also tried to cross-train them early for less strenuous jobs (like selling tickets) so that, as the pregnancy progressed, they could be transferred to a sit-down job instead of taken off the schedule. "Coincidentally," getting pregnant (especially by a manager) was also a fast track to promotion. 🙂

I'd leave it alone if I were you. Your friend needs a nurse and the nurse needs money. Sounds like they've reached a profitable arrangement. I doubt either of them would much care to have that disrupted. If, after refusing the position, you then meddle with her replacement choice, your friend is likely to be a bit put out.

 

[Slayergal]

I don't know if there are any laws necessarily. But if she is employed by your friend and not nurse sent from a home health company than I would let it be. The nurse may need money and can't afford to be without a job. I don't know what all a nurse does but if she's careful I think she should be fine. I continued to work with race horses everyday up until I was 7 months along before quitting and staying home. I know you all are probably thinking she's nuts. Yes I knew there was risks but I was very careful and was upfront with my employers. Besides I couldn't stay home everyday when I lived in a dorm room on the track about the size of a walk in closet. I handled horses, mucked stalls, etc.

 

[Vicariously]

here's the thing she isnt a nurse either...she has no job related trainging...and she lives an hour away...she also would be toting her two young children with her everyday...I mean I guess I shouldnt care if they want to be stupid then thats on them. And yes I do think its stupid...especially sense there is someone that lives 10 minutes away with training and who isnt pregnant and would not be bringing her kids to work....but whatever...I fail to see how (knowing what it pays) it would be even worth the risk for this person to take the job considering how much it will cost her in gas alone...

 

[Slayergal]

I'm sorry Vicariously that you see it that way. Okay so she don't have the training and has to tote her two children along have you ever thought that maybe your friend decided to do this gal a favor and give her a job (since you had turned it down). Maybe this is the only job the gal can find. Not many places will hire a pregnant woman because they know as soon as they get her trained she will be going on maternity leave. I think you fail to see what a pregnant woman will do to support her family.