“We Can’t Keep Giving Time Off Just Because She's Pregnant" — And Other Emails That Create Legal Risk

If you work in risk, compliance, or HR, you might already have the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission’s upcoming virtual workshop on your calendar: “Navigating Workplace Accommodations for Disability, Pregnancy, and Religion: What Employers Need to Know.” It’s happening July 31 and will walk through how to handle accommodation requests, what the interactive process should actually look like, and how to steer clear of common legal missteps.

But here’s a risk that often goes overlooked in conversations about accommodations: The damage doesn’t always come from a formal policy violation — it can start with a single sentence in an email.

• “We can’t keep giving time off just because she’s pregnant.”

  
  

• “I don’t want to deal with someone who needs special treatment for a disability.”

  
  

• “We shouldn’t have to change the schedule just because of his religious fasting.”

One sentence can create risk — and show up in an EEOC investigation. The agency reviews how accommodation requests are handled, including the internal language that surrounds them.

So while the EEOC teaches the law, your emails still get you sued. Make sure email oversight is part of the process. That’s where HarmCheck.ai makes a difference. Our AI tool is designed to catch the risk as it happens. It reviews employee email in real time and issues feedback, giving your team time to self-correct before hitting the send button. It also delivers weekly reports to risk managers, flagging language that could signal:

• A refusal to accommodate based on protected characteristics

  
  

• Bias against religious, pregnancy-related, or disability-related needs

  
  

• Hostile or dismissive attitudes that contradict compliance obligations

  
  

• Retaliatory tone toward employees who request accommodations

Even a single sentence in an email comes with risk and can escalate into a legal issue. HarmCheck helps you find it before opposing counsel does.

Why this matters:

• Pregnancy, disability, and religious accommodations are legally protected — with disability among the most frequent subjects of EEOC charges. Last year, a total of 81,055 new complaints were filed with the EEOC. Some 33,668 individuals alleged disability discrimination by their employers (38% of the total); 3,640 alleged religious discrimination (4%); and 2,729 alleged pregnancy discrimination (3%), according to the EEOC’s enforcement and litigation statistics for fiscal 2024.

  
  

• Managers don’t always realize when a sentence crosses the line. HarmCheck gives risk leaders real-time visibility into language that creates exposure.

  
  

• Emails are discoverable. A casual message can become courtroom evidence.

  
  

You’ll get legal guidance on July 31. HarmCheck gives you the real-time visibility to act on it — proactively, not reactively — email by email.

Book a free demo with HarmCheck today: http://harmcheck.ai/demo

Carolyne Zinko is the editorial director and AI editor at Alphy.

HarmCheck by Alphy is an AI communication compliance solution that detects and flags language that is harmful, unlawful, and unethical in digital communication. Alphy was founded to reduce the risk of litigation from harmful and discriminatory communication while helping employees communicate more effectively. For more information: www.harmcheck.ai.