Dear Annie:I am a senior software developer with one daughter, and I just found out I'm expecting a second child. This is great news, of course, but the problem is, my first pregnancy was very complicated, requiring several weeks of bed rest (i.e., absence from the office). Luckily, my boss back then was sympathetic, and I could work from home most of the time without any major problem.

    This time, though, I'm working for a different company, and my boss and teammates are all single men who have not been very accommodating, to put it mildly, when the few other women here have taken pregnancy leave, maternity leave, etc. Should I tell my boss now that I might have to be out for a while? Or should I wait and see? On the one hand, I don't want to seem as if I'm hiding anything, and I do want to give him enough advance notice to come up with a Plan B. On the other hand, I hesitate to bring this up, in case there are repercussions. Your thoughts? -- Due in October

    Dear D.I.O.:First, congratulations! And second, here's hoping you work for a company that has 15 or more employees because, if so, the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 protects you from most of the ominous-sounding "repercussions" you refer to. "Knowing your rights is key," says Tom Spiggle, an attorney and author of the forthcoming book, You're Pregnant? You're Fired!: Protecting Mothers, Fathers, and Other Caregivers in the Workplace.

    At most big companies with vigilant legal departments, he notes, managers are at least vaguely aware that they can't take any adverse action, including firing or demoting you, just because you're expecting. Even so, the number of pregnancy discrimination cases filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has been rising for the past decade or so, falling slightly since 2010, from 4,029 to 3,541 last year.

    The prevalence of these cases, Spiggle speculates, is "probably because there are more women in the workplace, and more of them are delaying childbearing until they're farther along in their careers, so the stakes are higher." He adds that, in predominantly male businesses (like software development, for example), "front-line supervisors may not be too familiar with the law."        

    亲爱的安妮：我是一名高级软件开发工程师，已经有一个女儿，最近刚刚发现自己又怀上了二胎。这当然是喜事，但问题在于，我的第一次怀孕状况百出，要卧床休息多周（无法去办公室上班）。幸运的是，当时的老板很有同情心，公司没什么要紧事的话我可以大多数时间在家工作。

    但这一次我换了一家公司，老板和团队成员都是单身男士，当为数不多的女同事因怀孕生产休假的时候，这些男士，委婉地说，一直都不太能适应。我该现在就告诉老板，我可能不得不休假一段时间吗？或者我应该观望一下？一方面，我不想让别人认为我在隐瞒什么，希望尽早告诉老板，以便他能制定应急方案。另一方面，由于担心可能会带来不利影响，我又有些犹豫要不要说。您有什么建议？——D.I.O.

    亲爱的D.I.O.：首先说声恭喜！其次，希望你的公司规模在15人以上。原因是，如果这样的话，你将受1978年通过的联邦《怀孕歧视法案》（Pregnancy Discrimination Act）的保护，可以免受那些不利“影响”的困扰。律师汤姆•斯皮格尔表示：“了解自己的权利是关键。”斯皮格尔的新书《怀孕等于失业！保护职场父母和其他护理工作者》（You're Pregnant? You're Fired!: Protecting Mothers, Fathers, and Other Caregivers in the Workplace.）即将发行。

    斯皮格尔表示，在大多数设有法务部的大公司，管理者至少会大致明白，他们不能因为员工怀孕而采取任何不利措施，包括解聘或降职。但即便如此，在过去十年里，每年上诉到美国公平就业机会委员会（Equal Employment Opportunity Commission）的怀孕歧视案件数量一直在增加，从2010年开始有小幅减少，从4,029起减少到去年的3,541起。

    斯皮格尔推测，该类案件的普遍性“可能是因为职场女性越来越多，而且更多人会推迟生育，直到她们在职场上达到足够的高度，这导致风险也变得更高。”他补充道，在男性主导的行业（如软件开发等），“基层管理人员可能并不熟悉该类法律。”

    Whether or not your boss belongs in that category, Spiggle advises you to "tell him you're pregnant as soon as you're sure. But, if you're not experiencing any complications yet, don't bring up the possibility." If and when medical difficulties arise that can be documented by a doctor, you may qualify for protection under a different federal law, the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires employers to make "reasonable accommodations" for people with health issues. "But until then, it's only hypothetical," Spiggle says. "So there's no reason to mention it."

    Elaine Varelas agrees. "At this point, give your boss and your team as much information as they need, but no more than that. Don't get into the 'what ifs,' which most people already know could occur, anyway, without your having to spell it out." A managing partner at executive coaching and development firm Keystone Partners, Varelas was the first woman at her company to take a maternity leave 18 years ago.

    Varelas notes that anyone who expects to be away from the office in the future for any reason -- whether it's "a vacation, a honeymoon, a medical leave, or a maternity leave" -- should make a detailed plan. "Your goal is to make sure that everything runs as smoothly as possible during your absence," she says.

    In particular, organize and document everything you're doing as thoroughly as you can. "You need to make it very easy and painless for other people to find information on your contacts and the status of your projects if you're not there and can't be reached," she says. "When people can't find things, that's when they get upset and start questioning your professionalism."

    Speaking of documenting everything, let's get back to your concerns about repercussions. Maybe there won't be any. But after some time, if you have reason to believe that you're being, for example, passed over for promotion or denied plum assignments because you're pregnant, "report it in writing to human resources," Spiggle says.

    On top of your other legal protections, the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, which covers companies with 50 or more employees, prohibits employers from retaliating against anyone for taking unpaid time off to deal with a medical condition. Creating a clear paper trail "can make it a lot easier to support your claim if it turns out that you have one." Good luck.

    Talkback:If you've ever been expecting a child while working, or if you took a parental leave, how and when did you tell your boss? Leave a comment below.

    不管你的老板懂不懂法，斯皮格尔都建议你“尽快告诉他你怀孕的事实。但如果你还没有遭遇任何孕期并发症，先不要提这种可能性。”如果病症的确发生并有医生确诊后，你将受到另外一部联邦法律——《美国残疾人法案》（Americans with Disabilities Act）的保护，该法案规定雇主对有健康问题的下属负有“合理对待”的义务。斯皮格尔说：“但如果迄今为止还只是假设。那你没必要提及。”

    伊莱恩•威尔拉斯也赞同这种观点。她说：“现在，给你的老板和团队提供他们需要了解的信息足矣。不要提到 ‘假设的情况’，大多数人都知道这些情况有可能发生，不需要你亲口说出来。”威尔拉斯是高管培训与发展公司Keystone Partners的管理合伙人，在18年前，她是该公司第一位休产假的女性。

    威尔拉斯表示，任何人如果预计在未来需要休假，都应该制定详细的计划，无论是请假“放松、度蜜月、休病假或产假”。她说：“你的目标是确保在你离开期间，一切都能正常运转。”

    尤其是要尽可能详细地整理和记录你正在做的所有事项。她表示：“你必须保证自己休假期间，如果其他人无法联系到你，也能毫不费力找到你留下的联系信息和项目进展情况。如果什么也找不到，会让人非常生气，并开始质疑你的职业度。”

    说到记录所有工作内容，我们再回到你前面提到的“不利影响”。或许，这种情况并不会出现。但经过一段时间之后，如果你有理由相信，因为自己怀孕而被剥夺了升职机会，或者被拒绝负责一项美差，斯皮格尔建议：“应该书面报告给人力资源部门。”

    另外你还可以享受到的合法保护是，美国《家庭医疗休假法案》（Family and Medical Leave Act）禁止雇主打击报复因身体状况无薪休假的员工。该法案的管辖对象为50到50人以上的公司。制作一份清晰的书面记录，并妥善保存，当你真的遇到麻烦时，它“可以让你的上诉更容易得到支持。”（财富中文网）

    反馈：如果你曾在工作期间怀孕，或曾休过产假，你是在什么时候通过什么方式告诉老板的？欢迎在下方留言。

    翻译：刘进龙/汪皓