Pregnancy Discrimination
(This article appeared in the July/August 2007 issue of The American Postal Worker magazine.)
Joyce B. Robinson, Research & Education Department Director
In 2005, approximately 4,500 charges of pregnancy-based discrimination were filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC resolved nearly all of them, and recovered an average of $2,700 per complaint.
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (1978) is an amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which first became law in 1964. The law covers employers with 15 or more workers, including agencies of federal, state, and local governments, employment agencies, and labor organizations. Essentially, the law says that women who are pregnant or are affected by conditions related to pregnancy must be treated in the same manner as other employees or job applicants.
Hiring and Leave
An employer covered by Title VII cannot refuse to hire a woman because of pregnancy or a pregnancy-related condition or because of the prejudices of co-workers, clients, or customers.
An employer may not single out pregnant workers for special procedures to determine their ability to work. However, if an employer requires other employees to submit a doctor’s statement concerning their inability to work before granting leave or paying sick benefits, the employer may require employees affected by pregnancy-related conditions to submit such statements.
Employers who allow temporarily disabled employees to perform under modified conditions (or take disability leave or leave without pay) must allow pregnant employees to do the same: An employer must consider them to be “temporarily disabled.”
Regardless of whether the tasks have been modified or an employee is working an alternative assignment, a pregnant woman must be permitted to work as long as she is able to perform her job. And if an employee has missed work due to a pregnancy-related condition but has recovered, she must be allowed to return to her job: The employer may not require her to remain on leave until the baby’s birth.
Employers are not allowed to set a predetermined time that prohibits an employee’s return to work after childbirth, and they must hold open jobs vacant because of a pregnancy-related absence for the same length of time that other jobs are held open for employees on sick or disability leave.
Health Insurance
Health insurance provided by an employer must cover expenses for pregnancy-related conditions on the same basis as it does costs for other medical conditions. Health insurance does not need to cover expenses arising from terminated pregnancies, however, except in cases where the life of the woman was endangered.
Whether payment is on a fixed or a percentage basis, pregnancy-related healthcare expenses should be reimbursed in exactly the same manner as expenses for other medical conditions. The amounts payable by the provider can be limited only to the same extent as they are for other conditions: No additional or larger deductible can be imposed.
Employers must provide the same level of pregnancy-related health benefits for spouses of pregnant employees as they do for the spouses of other workers.
Fringe Benefits
In essence, employees with pregnancy-related disabilities must be treated the same as other temporarily disabled employees. This includes fringe benefits, such as pay increases, the accrual and crediting of seniority, and leave calculation. If an employer provides any benefits to workers while they are on leave, the employer must provide the same benefits for those who are on leave due to pregnancy.
Such benefits cannot be limited to married employees. Employers who retaliate against anyone who opposes employment practices that discriminate based on pregnancy will be in violation of Title VII.
For More Info
If you believe that you or someone that you know is a victim of pregnancy discrimination, contact the nearest EEOC office. If you do not know of an EEOC office in your area, call 800-669-4000 or 800-669-6820 (TDD) for more information, or visit www.EEOC.gov.