The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) amended Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, making it unlawful for employers to discriminate on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth or pregnancy-related medical conditions. The PDA's prohibitions apply to all employers with 15 or more employees, including state and local governments, the federal government and labor organizations. The PDA provides guidance to employers and avenues to challenge pregnancy discrimination for employees.
Employment
The PDA's provisions are designed to remove pregnancy as a barrier to initial employment, being promoted or having access to insurance or other benefits. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), employers may not ask a woman if she is pregnant, or plans to become pregnant, while interviewing her for a position--or refuse to hire or promote a woman who is pregnant. In addition, employers must treat pregnant workers similarly to other employees and may not modify a pregnant worker's job or move her to another job, as long as she is able to perform her duties. Employers are prohibited from treating pregnant women differently than other employees based on the prejudices of coworkers, clients or customers.
Temporary Job Impact
If a woman's pregnancy temporarily interferes with her ability to do her job, she must be treated similarly to other employees who have temporary health conditions. Such treatment includes similar accrual and crediting of seniority, vacation time, pay increases and temporary disability benefits. If a pregnancy-related condition requires hospitalization or prolonged bed rest, a woman must be afforded the same right to leave time, paid or unpaid, as other temporarily disabled workers. A woman may not be terminated for her pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions.
Medical/Pregnancy Leave
If pregnancy requires a woman to take a medical leave, her job must be held open as long as any other employee's job would be. Employers may not require a fixed minimum amount of time a woman must take for maternity leave.
Insurance
All employer-provided health insurance must cover pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions for employees and the spouses of employees, if family coverage is offered. The copays and deductibles for pregnancy and pregnancy-related care must not be higher than for other medical conditions.
Other Issues
An employee's marital status is not a barrier to the protections of the PDA. The Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 also provides women with some pregnancy-related benefits. Unlike the PDA, the FMLA applies only to companies with 50 or more employees and only to women who have been employed for at least 12 months. However, the FMLA provides, among other benefits, that a covered employer must grant eligible workers 12 weeks of unpaid leave each year for the birth of a child. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the FMLA also requires employers to provide "reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for one year after the child's birth each time such employee has need to express the milk." Employers are also required to provide "a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk."
Enforcement
It is a PDA violation for employers to retaliate against employees for challenging practices that discriminate based on pregnancy or for filing a discrimination charge, testifying or participating in any way in an investigation, proceeding or litigation under Title VII. The EEOC is the federal agency responsible for issuing regulations concerning pregnancy discrimination. If you believe you have experienced pregnancy discrimination, you can file a charge with the EEOC or your state's Civil Rights or Fair Employment office. You generally must file a complaint within 180 days of when the discrimination happened.
References
- U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Facts About Pregnancy Discrimination
- Association of Federal, State, County, and Municipal Employees:Your Rights During Pregnancy and Childbirth
- National Partnership for Women and Families: Pregnancy Discrimination
- U.S. Department of Labor: Break Time for Nursing Mothers under the FLSA
