Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Foreword
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- PART I WHAT IS SEX DISCRIMINATION?
- PART II SEXUAL HARASSMENT
- PART III PREGNANT WOMEN AND MOTHERS AT WORK
- 31 Pregnant Truckers and the Problem of Light-Duty Assignments
- 32 A Big Win for Pregnant Police Officers
- 33 Undue Burden
- 34 Hard Labor: New Pregnancy Discrimination Guidance from the EEOC
- 35 Forceps Delivery: The Supreme Court Narrowly Saves the Pregnancy Discrimination Act in Young vs. UPS
- 36 The Pregnancy Discrimination Act Reaches Advanced Maternal Age
- 37 The Pregnant Workers’ Fairness Act: A Time for Change?
- 38 The Supreme Court Deals a Blow to Once-Pregnant Retirees
- 39 If She Does Not Win It Is a Shame
- 40 Must Employers Who Cover Prescriptions Cover Contraception?
- 41 Fertile Ground for Discrimination
- 42 Can a Woman Be Fired for Absenteeism Related to Fertility Treatments?
- 43 Is Lactation Related to Pregnancy?
- 44 A Victory for Families, but Hardly a Panacea
- 45 A Small Step in the Right Direction: The Family and Medical Leave Act at Twenty
- 46 “Best Practices” to Promote Work-Family Balance
- PART IV FEMALE BREADWINNERS AND THE GLASS CEILING
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Index
37 - The Pregnant Workers’ Fairness Act: A Time for Change?
from PART III - PREGNANT WOMEN AND MOTHERS AT WORK
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 May 2016
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Foreword
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- PART I WHAT IS SEX DISCRIMINATION?
- PART II SEXUAL HARASSMENT
- PART III PREGNANT WOMEN AND MOTHERS AT WORK
- 31 Pregnant Truckers and the Problem of Light-Duty Assignments
- 32 A Big Win for Pregnant Police Officers
- 33 Undue Burden
- 34 Hard Labor: New Pregnancy Discrimination Guidance from the EEOC
- 35 Forceps Delivery: The Supreme Court Narrowly Saves the Pregnancy Discrimination Act in Young vs. UPS
- 36 The Pregnancy Discrimination Act Reaches Advanced Maternal Age
- 37 The Pregnant Workers’ Fairness Act: A Time for Change?
- 38 The Supreme Court Deals a Blow to Once-Pregnant Retirees
- 39 If She Does Not Win It Is a Shame
- 40 Must Employers Who Cover Prescriptions Cover Contraception?
- 41 Fertile Ground for Discrimination
- 42 Can a Woman Be Fired for Absenteeism Related to Fertility Treatments?
- 43 Is Lactation Related to Pregnancy?
- 44 A Victory for Families, but Hardly a Panacea
- 45 A Small Step in the Right Direction: The Family and Medical Leave Act at Twenty
- 46 “Best Practices” to Promote Work-Family Balance
- PART IV FEMALE BREADWINNERS AND THE GLASS CEILING
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Index
Summary
In May 2012, Democrats in the House of Representatives introduced the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). The bill would guarantee pregnant women the right to reasonable accommodation when the short-term physical effects of pregnancy conflict with the demands of a particular job, as long as the accommodation does not impose an undue hardship on the employer. This chapter examines the ways in which courts have unjustifiably narrowed protection under existing statutes and the realities of the situations of pregnant women at work that make existing interpretations of the law insufficient.
UNDERSTANDING PREGNANCY DISCRIMINATION RIGHTS IN PRACTICE
The most significant impact of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) of 1978, at least initially, was to invalidate widespread formal policies that told pregnant women when they could and could not work, and in which sorts of jobs. The PDA forced employers to shift to a more individualized model under which pregnant women could not be fired, not hired, or otherwise disadvantaged just for being pregnant. Decisions about employment now had to be made based on capacity to work, rather than pregnancy status.
The second and important impact of the PDA was to force changes to standard employer benefit and leave policies, many of which excluded pregnancy altogether. Under the second clause of the act, employers must treat pregnant employees at least as well as they treat other temporarily disabled workers. Employers thus must, for example, provide paid or unpaid leave to pregnant women who medically require it if they would do so for something who needed it because of some other temporary disability.
In practice, the PDA protects some pregnant women, some of the time, as follows:
• For a pregnant woman who can work at full capacity – that is, she has no physical effects that interfere with her job responsibilities – the PDA can be effective in protecting her against the stereotypes and animus her employer might harbor about pregnant women generally. If a pregnant woman is able to perform all aspects of her job, she cannot be assumed to have limitations that, in fact, she does not have, nor can she be denied the opportunity to work just because she is pregnant.
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- Information
- Nine to FiveHow Gender, Sex, and Sexuality Continue to Define the American Workplace, pp. 220 - 224Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2016