Can My Employer Fire Me While Pregnant in Arizona?
An employer generally cannot fire you because you are pregnant, because you need pregnancy-related accommodations, or because you took protected leave. But pregnancy does not make you immune from termination. An employer can still lawfully end your employment for legitimate, non-discriminatory reasons. Ultimately, the real question in most cases is why you were terminated.
If you were fired while pregnant, or soon after announcing your pregnancy, it is natural to wonder whether it was legal. This post outlines the laws that generally protect pregnant employees, explains what lawful terminations can look like, and provides some fact patterns that often suggest pregnancy discrimination.
Laws Protecting Pregnant Employees:
Several laws can apply, depending on your employer’s size and your situation:
Title VII and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act: Prohibit sex discrimination, including discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions. They generally apply to employers with 15 or more employees.
The Arizona Civil Rights Act: Prohibits sex discrimination under Arizona law and also generally applies to employers with 15 or more employees.
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA): Requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations for known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related conditions, unless doing so would cause undue hardship. It also prohibits retaliating against employees for requesting accommodations. The PWFA generally applies to employers with 15 or more employees.
The FMLA: Provides eligible employees to up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave. Eligibility depends on factors like the employer’s size, your length of service, and hours worked.
The ADA: Applies to pregnancy-related conditions that rise to the level of a disability, such as severe pregnancy complications.
Because these laws have different coverage rules and deadlines, which ones apply to you depends on the facts.
When An Employer Can Terminate a Pregnant Employee:
Arizona is an at-will employment state. Being pregnant does not guarantee you a job or exempt you from the rules all employees are required to comply with. An employer may lawfully terminate a pregnant employee for reasons such as:
A genuine layoff or restructuring that eliminates the position or affects employees regardless of pregnancy. Whether an employer was motivated by discrimination when selecting a pregnant employee for termination as part of a larger layoff or restructuring depends on the specific facts/circumstances.
Documented performance problems that predate the pregnancy or are consistent with how the employer treats other employees.
Serious misconduct, such as theft, violence, or a significant policy violation.
Attendance violations under a policy that is applied evenly to all employees, as long as the absences are not protected by the FMLA, an accommodation, or another law.
Business closure.
The legal question is not whether pregnancy and termination happened around the same time. It is whether pregnancy, or a protected request related to it, played a role in the decision. An employer that can show a real, consistently applied, non-discriminatory reason will have a stronger defense.
Facts and Evidence That Suggest Discrimination:
Employers rarely say, “We are firing you because you are pregnant.” Discrimination cases usually rely on circumstantial evidence showing that the stated reason is a pretext, meaning not the real reason. Red flags suggesting pregnancy discrimination include the following:
Suspicious timing: A termination shortly after you announce your pregnancy, request pregnancy accommodations, or ask for leave.
A sudden change in treatment: A strong record, positive reviews, or raises followed by new criticism, discipline, or a performance improvement plan soon after the employer learns of the pregnancy.
Comments about pregnancy or motherhood: Remarks about whether you will be “committed,” “distracted,” or “available” after the baby, or assumptions about what you can handle. Note who made the comment, when, and whether it was in writing.
Inconsistent or shifting explanations: The reason given at termination differs from what you were told earlier, or from what the employer later tells the EEOC or a court.
Different treatment of similar employees: Others who broke the same rule, missed the same targets, or had the same attendance record were not disciplined or fired.
Policies not followed: The employer skipped its usual progressive discipline steps or other normal procedures.
No documentation: The employer claims longstanding performance problems but has no write-ups, reviews, or emails showing the issues were raised before you put the employer on notice of your pregnancy or need for pregnancy accommodations/leave.
Denied or ignored accommodation requests: Terminating an employee after they ask for light duty, schedule changes, or other pregnancy-related accommodations can violate the PWFA, the ADA, or other laws, depending on the circumstances.
Interference with leave: A termination right before, during, or soon after FMLA leave.
Replacement: Someone outside your protected group, or a non-pregnant employee, took over your job or duties.
Typically, no single fact decides a case. Evidence is evaluated as a whole, and context matters.
What to Do If You Think You Were Fired Because of Pregnancy:
Document everything now: Write down dates, names, what was said, and who witnessed it, while your memory is fresh.
Save records: Keep performance reviews, emails, texts, disciplinary notices, your termination letter, and any accommodation requests. Do not forward or retain confidential company information or documents you are not authorized to have.
Put accommodation requests in writing: Submit written requests or send an email recapping verbal discussions if you are still employed.
Be careful with severance agreements: Signing usually means waiving your right to bring claims. Have the agreement reviewed by an employment attorney first.
Watch the deadlines. You generally have 180 days to file a charge with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office and 300 days to file with the EEOC. Other claims may have different deadlines.
Talk to an employment attorney. Whether your situation is discrimination or a lawful termination often turns on details a lawyer can evaluate quickly.
Speak with an Arizona Employment Attorney:
Not every termination of a pregnant employee is unlawful, and Haley will tell you honestly whether she believes you have a strong case. If you believe pregnancy played a part in your termination, request a consultation so you can go over what happened and discuss your options.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every situation is different.
