Pregnancy Discrimination Act Case Study

The federal policy issue that I choose to research and write about is The Pregnancy Discrimination Act. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act, or PDA for short, is an amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In Title VII of the Civil Rights Act it states that “[…] and women affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions shall be treated the same for all employment-¬related purposes” (Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964). The PDA was enacted in the year 1978 and it prohibits workplace discrimination on the basis of pregnancy. The Act was developed as a result of the 1976 Supreme Court decision General Elec. Co. v. Gilbert (PDA-Historical Perspective). The employer offered its employees a disability benefit

plan, but absences related to pregnancy were not covered in the plan. “By 1977, women occupied about 45% of the employment class but only 25% of the insurance plans allowed sick leave for pregnancy related illness” (PDA-Historical Perspectives).
After much fight from women in the workforce about the Supreme Court case, legislation amended Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Women who have been affected by pregnancy must be treated in the same manner as others employees who are similar in their ability or inability to work. This act states that “an employer cannot refuse to hire her because of her pregnancy, as long as she is able to do the major functions of her job” (Pregnancy Discrimination). The employer cannot refuse to hire because it would show prejudice against pregnant women in general. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act also forbids discrimination in other aspects like pay, job assignments, promotion, layoffs, benefits and much more. Pregnant women must be permitted to work as long as they are able to do so without it affecting their job performance.
As stated in the Pregnancy Discrimination article, if a women must leave work for pregnancy related issues, but then recovers, the employer cannot force her to remain on leave until the birth of the baby. Under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the employer must also allow the same rights to a pregnant women as allowed to a disabled person. This includes disability leave or leave without pay. The employer must also “leave the position of the pregnant women open as long as they leave it open for sick or disabled leave” (Pregnancy Discrimination). When the women is later in her pregnancy and cannot perform her normal day to day work, the employer is supposed to allow the woman to do lighter work, just as they would be required to do for a person who was disabled. “Any health insurance provided by an employer must cover expenses for pregnancy related conditions on the same basis as expenses for other medical conditions” (Pregnancy Discrimination). It also states in the same article that insurance coverage for expenses arising from abortion is not required, except where the life of the mother is endangered or medical complications arise from an abortion. If the employer offers benefits to those on medical leave, they also have to offer the same benefits to those on medical leave or pregnancy related conditions.
I think that so far a lot has been done to pave the way for equal rights for pregnant and pregnancy related conditions.

Many cases are being brought to the Supreme Court because many companies and employers are not cooperating with the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. Just recently a young women working with UPS was forced into unpaid time off because she was pregnant and was told by her doctor she could not lift more than 20 pounds. She felt that she had been unfairly treated because UPS made accommodations for other workers with disabilities but didn’t offer to make accommodations for her. I think that even though the Pregnancy Discrimination Act is there, many companies and employers are not following it. It is not fair for women who become pregnant to be treated any differently than another worker who has a temporary disability. I think that congress should strengthen this act so that women are not forced to choose between their job and the health of their pregnancy and baby. I think that companies and employers who are not following the rules of this act should be punished in some way. One way could be that if they are not obeying this act, they could be fined. It would make them more likely to follow through and follow the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. With more and more women in the work force, it is obvious at some point a majority of these women will be

pregnant.
I would say that my opinion on this issue is more liberal than conservative. Many conservative people are more about themselves and how they can do better, but liberal minds are more likely to care about the general public, not just themselves. Also in my opinion, conservatives would not care as much if pregnant women are discriminated against or not. Liberal people are more likely to support women who are pregnant but are still able to work during their pregnancy. I guess that some people might consider my opinion moderate, because not all conservative people would only care about how to better themselves. Liberals believe in equality for everyone, no matter what the disability is and that is how I feel about this issue. I do not believe it is right for women to be discriminated against just because they are pregnant. These women are not asking for special treatment, they just want to be treated fairly.