As a professional caregiver, you’re constantly giving your time and energy to your clients’ family. But what happens when it’s time to expand your own family? What are your rights if you’re working as a nanny while pregnant?
When you’re a nanny expecting a new baby, you want to be able to take care of your children while keeping their financial security, like all working parents, points out Julie Kashen, a senior fellow and director for women’s economic justice at The Century Foundation, with expertise in work and family, caregiving, economic mobility and labor and a former policy staffer for the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA). She acknowledges that you’ll likely be considering questions like, “How much time off will I get once I give birth? Will it be paid time off?”; “how long can I work while pregnant?”; and “will I have job security after giving birth?”
Here’s the scoop on your rights as a pregnant nanny.
What should I know about paid family and medical leave programs as a nanny?
While there’s no federal mandate on paid leave for domestic workers, state laws have been popping up in recent years. In 2024, 13 states — California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington — and D.C. have passed legislation to create paid family and medical leave programs, which includes maternity leave.
Assuming you and your employer are paying nanny taxes, you may be eligible for benefits in these states. For instance, household employees in New York who work a regular schedule of 20 or more hours per week are eligible after 26 consecutive weeks of employment for up to 12 weeks of Paid Family Leave to help them bond with a child, care for a close relative with a serious health condition or help relieve family pressure due to active military service. Employees taking Paid Family Leave receive 67% of their average weekly wage, up to a cap of 67% of the current New York stage average weekly wage.
Similarly, in California, the California State Disability Insurance Program (SDI) provides Paid Family Leave benefits to eligible workers who cannot work for non-work-related reasons (i.e. maternity leave). The SDI Program is funded by mandatory payroll deductions from an employee’s wages.
Questions about job security and specifics
You could fear that sharing your happy pregnancy news might translate to losing your job — or wonder if your employer will hold your job while you take time off (paid or not) to bond with your little one. Kashen and other experts broke down the answers to pregnant nannies’ job security concerns.
“Could I be fired?”
“No one should be fired because they are a parent or becoming a parent,” Kashen notes. “People shouldn’t have to win the boss lottery or live in the right state to be protected against firing. Unfortunately, because of the shortfall in current laws, the answer is ‘it depends.’”
“No one should be fired because they are a parent or becoming a parent. People shouldn’t have to win the boss lottery or live in the right state to be protected against firing. Unfortunately, because of the shortfall in current laws, the answer is ‘it depends.’”
— Julie Kashen, director for women’s economic justice at The Century Foundation, with expertise in work and family, caregiving, economic mobility, and labor
Employment lawyer Cynthia Flynn, Esq. of Hackler Flynn & Associates in California points out that in the event that you’re not able to perform all of your duties, your duties and wages may be modified, and you may be terminated.
If you happen to work for a company or agency with 15 or more employees, you’re covered under the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act, passed in 1978, which protects against discrimination of pregnant workers. “Many states, including Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey and New York, make it illegal for smaller employers to discriminate against pregnant workers,” says Kashen. “Firing a worker because she is pregnant is a form of illegal pregnancy discrimination under these laws.”
You can check on ABetterBalance.org to see if you’re protected in your state or city.
“Absent a pregnancy accommodation law, employers may still have to accommodate pregnant workers if they accommodate other workers under similar circumstances or if the worker has a pregnancy-related disability,” explains Kashen. “You should consult with a lawyer or advocacy organization to better understand your rights if you need a workplace accommodation for pregnancy.”
And outside of legal protections, Myrna Alphonse, a national certified counselor, a longtime member of the International Nanny Association (INA) and a nanny manager for 30 years, says there’s one thing that could preempt sudden termination: “clear routine communication that is essential in fostering a relationship of trust.” It’s considered one of the INA’s best practices for professional arrangements between employers and their nannies and can minimize out of the blue surprises, she says.
“Will my employer hold my job for me?”
You might fear that your employer will move on to a new caregiver if you take a certain amount of time off for parental leave. “No one should lose their job because they became a parent,” says Kashen. “Yet our laws are still insufficient in this area. In general, the nannies most likely to have job protection are those who work for a large employer or who work in certain states.”
Under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), a worker’s job is protected while they’re taking parental leave. “FMLA also prohibits retaliation or discrimination on the basis of leave taking if they meet certain criteria, which many nannies are unlikely to meet,” Kashen notes. “The criteria include that they have to work for an employer with 50 or more employees and have worked at least 1250 hours.”
Some states have their own versions of FMLA (unpaid, job-protected leave) or a paid leave law that includes job protection. “[These] paid leave laws include the legal right to return to work after a leave for everyone regardless of the size of their employer,” explains Kashen.
If you want to be sure of the specifics you’re covered under in your city and state, you’ll do well to consult a lawyer or advocacy organization to find out if you have legal protections. “The length of time depends on the state, and the purpose for which leave is taken — whether to bond with the new child or to care for your own serious health needs resulting from the pregnancy or childbirth.”
For example, in Rhode Island, it’s 13 weeks. For New York and Connecticut it’s up to 12. Meanwhile, new laws, complete with benefits, are coming down the pike in several states, such as Delaware and Maine.
“Can I work up to my due date?”
Many nannies have had success managing their typical responsibilities while pregnant right up to their due date, notes Alphonse. And if you want to and your condition allows for it, there is no legal issue with working up until your due date, explains Flynn.
Basically, doing this is up to your discretion. Again, your best bet is frequently discussing the specifics of your game plan with your employer.
“It’s recommended by the National Domestic Workers Alliance that you and your employer have good communication and complete a written agreement so there are clear expectations on both sides,” she notes. “If your employer forces you to stop working before your due date, you may have a claim for illegal pregnancy discrimination, depending on whether your employer is subject to an applicable anti-discrimination law.”
“It’s recommended by the National Domestic Workers Alliance that you and your employer have good communication and complete a written agreement so there are clear expectations on both sides.”
— Cynthia Flynn, Esq. of Hackler Flynn & Associates
“What if I can’t do all my usual duties later in my pregnancy?”
As your pregnancy progresses, you might find yourself up against physical challenges that could affect professional tasks. “Since nannying is such a physically demanding role, employers and nannies can create a backup plan well in advance to cover any gaps in care needs,” Alphonse advises. “This could involve a grandparent or other relative or utilizing a temp nanny service.”
And when it comes to legal protection? The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) is a federal law that went into effect June 27, 2023 and requires covered employers (defined as private employers and public sector employers that have 15 or more employees) to provide “reasonable accommodations” to a qualified worker’s known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation will cause the employer an “undue hardship,” aka a hardship is defined as causing significant difficulty or expense.
But even if you’re not covered, employers may still have to accommodate pregnant workers if they accommodate other workers under similar circumstances or if the worker has a pregnancy-related disability. “You should consult with a lawyer or advocacy organizations, such as A Better Balance, to better understand your rights if you need a workplace accommodation for pregnancy,” says Kashen.
The bottom line on taking maternity leave as a nanny
Between researching your state programs and federal rights and having a clear line of communication with your client, you can more easily navigate the ins and outs of being employed as a nanny while pregnant. To thoroughly understand your rights, visit A Better Balance’s website, recommends Kashen, or consult with a lawyer or advocacy organization, as different cities and states have their own laws in place.
