NYU Fellow Focuses on Protecting the Rights of Pregnant Workers

NYU Law Reproductive Justice and Women’s Rights Fellow Mia Munro has made great progress in leading the charge to protect the rights of pregnant women in the workplace as part of ERA’s Marginalized Workers and Work & Family campaigns.

Since joining the organization in August, Mia and a fellow at the Employment Law Center have taken the lead in drafting a much-needed FAQ section on pregnancy disability and family care leave for the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) website. Mia has also spearheaded an educational outreach program to inform pregnant women about their rights through their medical providers.

Over the past several months, Mia has provided direct services to the many women seeking information and assistance with pregnancy-related issues at work via our Advice and Counseling hotline. Most recently, she received a call from a California woman distressed about an employer’s policy to discontinue health insurance benefits for employees that take more than a month of pregnancy disability leave. Mia advised the caller about the new amendment to the California Pregnancy Disability Leave Law, co-sponsored by ERA, which requires employers to continue providing health care benefits to women for the entire duration of their job-protected pregnancy disability leave, up to four months. Mia prepared a letter describing the new law for the caller to provide to her employer.

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