This time the U.S. Supreme Court got it right. Yesterday, a majority of the Court agreed with Peggy Young that a pregnant worker can establish a discrimination claim if the employer's policies accommodate most nonpregnant workers with injuries or disabilities,
but not pregnant workers.
Ms. Young is a former UPS employee who was
forced to take unpaid leave because of her pregnancy. She requested "light duty" to accommodate restrictions on lifting, but UPS denied the request,
telling her she was "too much of a liability" and she would have to go home until she was "no longer pregnant." Ms. Young sued, claiming UPS violated the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) since
the company regularly provided "light duty" positions and other similar accommodations to other, nonpregnant workers.
The Supreme Court's opinion not only confirmed what we already knew - that pregnancy discrimination is a form of sex discrimination - but also what pregnancy discrimination can look like. The opinion found that a woman can pursue a claim if an employer provides work accommodations for most employees with temporary disabilities while refusing similar accommodations for pregnant workers.
Even though Ms. Young has not yet won her case - she must still prove her case in a lower court - today's victory is important. Women are the primary breadwinners in more than 40 percent of families with children. And while the law has changed in ways helpful to pregnant workers since Peggy Young brought her case, an individual pregnant worker may still face uncertainty about her rights in her workplace.
Our work will not be done as long as any woman can be forced off the job because she gets pregnant and remains vulnerable to losing her paycheck and health benefits at the very moment her family needs them most. You can invest in our work to safeguard justice for pregnant workers and ensure economic justice for women in our region. Protection from pregnancy discrimination, access to paid sick and safe leave, freedom from wage secrecy - we won't stop until all women truly have an equal opportunity to succeed in the workplace.
Sincerely,
Lisa M. Stone
Executive Director
P.S. You can help us keep up the momentum on these issues by joining us to #TalkAboutEconJustice on Facebook and Twitter!
