Pregnancy Discrimination

I’m 32 weeks with baby #3. My kids are well spaced. My oldest was born in 09’ and my middle in 18’. With my oldest, I was a very young, single mom and I supported us by waitressing. Accommodations were out of the question and I went back to work 5 weeks PP because I couldn’t afford not to work and I was told I wouldn’t be put on the schedule if I didn’t come back. With my middle, I was a college grad with my first big girl job working as a clerk in the district court. I got the very standard 12 weeks FMLA, short term disability that paid out 8 weeks (c-section) at 50%, and I had to exhaust all my leave time before getting short term disability. I requested a very reasonable and doable accommodation, which was denied immediately. Overall, I was made to feel like my pregnancy and impending maternity leave (aka “vacation”) were a burden and I had to hold it together and work until the day I went into labor.

Fast forward to 2025. I am 37, well into building my career as a paralegal, and 32 weeks pregnant with my final baby. I now work for the State and they offer amazing maternity leave coverage. I get 12 weeks paid in full and up to an additional 12 weeks unpaid. I’m choosing to take 10 weeks of unpaid leave after my 12 weeks of paid leave. I am so incredibly grateful to be in this position and have the opportunity to spend this absolutely priceless time with my baby.

Here’s the catch. I am coming up on my 1 year anniversary. It wasn’t ideal timing to get pregnant after only 4 months at a new job, but that’s just the way things happen sometimes. I have worked incredibly hard with very little direction from my direct supervisor. I have taken the initiative to not only find work for myself, but to define and shape my position. My work is high quality, timely, and thorough.

I was hired in at the top of the entry level pay scale. I was supposed to get a performance review at 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months. I still have not gotten a performance review, despite asking my boss at each interval if I was going to get one. I took the initiative, once again, to ask her to have a discussion about bumping me up to the intermediate level now that I have hit my year mark.

My boss and I met today and she explained that I wouldn’t be bumped up to the intermediate level and that we could talk again when I return from maternity leave. She had the nerve to say “you are meeting, but not exceeding expectations” What does that even mean without a performance evaluation or any guidance as to goals, objectives, etc. She proceeded to basically blow smoke up my a** to justify her decision. It’s too long to get into but I know the complexity and volume of my work is at least an intermediate level.

Her suggestions to me were basically to put together a portfolio of work showing the kind of work I am working on and then taking the initiative to seek out more complex projects. After that, I can present the data to her in an attempt to convince her of why I should get a raise. We are talking about a $1.35 hourly rate increase. She knows my work product, the types of projects that I have been working on, and the initiative I have taken to work on more complex projects.

It’s about the maternity leave. It’s obvious. I have the unfortunate timing of coming up on a year of employment a month before I go on a 5 month long maternity leave. This past year, I have worked my a** off. I have not asked for any pregnancy accommodations despite terrible morning sickness that lasted until 20 weeks and gestational diabetes. I have not used my pregnancy as an “excuse” to underperform. I have shown up and done everything that’s been asked of me and more.

I am seriously so fucking pissed. Like WHY are women STILL subject to discrimination. I don’t think I’ve ever had a male boss. It’s always women. How do you sleep at night knowing that you are holding us all back by discriminating against pregnant employees. I thought I was past it with this job but clearly, the hate exists at all levels.

edit Wow, what an interesting variety of comments.

To clarify: Yes, I was under the impression that I would be eligible for a pay increase at 1 year. Yes, it is HR’s expectation that managers perform performance reviews for new hires at 3, 6, and 12 months. No, I did not throw my coworker under the bus, I merely used our shared and individual work tasks as examples of how the skill levels of our work are the same. More for reference than comparison. You will just have to take my word that my work product and performance over the last year have been great and even in a learning capacity, I have made some pretty vital contributions to the division with my efficiency and ability to learn new tasks/skills quickly. I have accumulated a heavy work load and I think that only speaks to my competency.

I’m sorry not sorry that my post reads like someone who is “upset.” This is a Reddit rant. The meeting with my supervisor was professional and ended on a good note. For all that believe it’s ridiculous to even ASK for a deserved pay increase before going on maternity leave, I would take the time to ask yourself why that is. The reason I included my work experience with all 3 pregnancies was to illustrate the different levels of work place discrimination. Subtle discrimination IS discrimination and it’s worth discussing and examining.

Will I DO something about it? No. BUT, it doesn’t make me feel like I have a great work environment. If the opportunity presents itself, I may transfer to a different division instead of staying here. That’s a loss on their end.