Companies, that I have worked for, never gave anything to a pregnant female employees for two dominant reasons:
(1) In compliance with Title VII Civil Rights Act and other Federal and State anti-discrimination legislations, a person should not be treated differently based on his/her protected status: age, race, nationality, citizenship, sex, gender orientation, marital status, military discharge or disability. Therefore to give a pregnant woman a gift, because she is pregnant, is the same as giving her money because she is a woman. This is a form of preferential treatment based on gender/sex; a discrimination.
Furthermore, even if you convince yourself to give said gift and, later on, another pregnant employee were to get pregnant but either doesn't get anything or gets a gift of lesser value but happens to be of a diferent race then, you would have discriminated based on race -another protected status.
(2) Pregnancy is determined as a medical condition in US employment law. And as such, since an employer may not disseminate any information covered by an employee's medical records, you may not discuss her pregnancy to any third party. And what you may say to the employee is covered within the Family and Medical Leave Act. As an employer, you can't even keep her doctor's note in her employee file.
Furthermore, if you give anything to an employee with a certain medical situation, in spirit of fairness, you would have to do the same with any medical condition. It's a matter of workplace performance and motivation. You need to be consistent. Now, let's say that she has a difficult pregnancy and that, following complications, she were to loose her child. What would you do? After each medical situation, will you give her a gift? Your kindness could quickly turn into a financial nightmare for your business. So what can you do?
For instance, you could wait that she makes her situation public. As she does, you can congratulate her in public and in such creating an opening for employees to relaxe a moment to be happy for her. You can ask her if she requires any reasonnable accomodation: work schedule flexibility, tasks reassignments, time off, modify workspace or help her through her government mandated rights and corporate policies. But in no way you should give any book or advice on any medical or legal subject. Just stay clear. And do not promise anything not covered in writing by your company policy as stipulated in the employee handbook.
(1) In compliance with Title VII Civil Rights Act and other Federal and State anti-discrimination legislations, a person should not be treated differently based on his/her protected status: age, race, nationality, citizenship, sex, gender orientation, marital status, military discharge or disability. Therefore to give a pregnant woman a gift, because she is pregnant, is the same as giving her money because she is a woman. This is a form of preferential treatment based on gender/sex; a discrimination.
Furthermore, even if you convince yourself to give said gift and, later on, another pregnant employee were to get pregnant but either doesn't get anything or gets a gift of lesser value but happens to be of a diferent race then, you would have discriminated based on race -another protected status.
(2) Pregnancy is determined as a medical condition in US employment law. And as such, since an employer may not disseminate any information covered by an employee's medical records, you may not discuss her pregnancy to any third party. And what you may say to the employee is covered within the Family and Medical Leave Act. As an employer, you can't even keep her doctor's note in her employee file.
Furthermore, if you give anything to an employee with a certain medical situation, in spirit of fairness, you would have to do the same with any medical condition. It's a matter of workplace performance and motivation. You need to be consistent. Now, let's say that she has a difficult pregnancy and that, following complications, she were to loose her child. What would you do? After each medical situation, will you give her a gift? Your kindness could quickly turn into a financial nightmare for your business. So what can you do?
For instance, you could wait that she makes her situation public. As she does, you can congratulate her in public and in such creating an opening for employees to relaxe a moment to be happy for her. You can ask her if she requires any reasonnable accomodation: work schedule flexibility, tasks reassignments, time off, modify workspace or help her through her government mandated rights and corporate policies. But in no way you should give any book or advice on any medical or legal subject. Just stay clear. And do not promise anything not covered in writing by your company policy as stipulated in the employee handbook.
Photo: http://www.thomchild.com/
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