“Tina,” who is pregnant and works as a health aide in a nursing home, is told by her doctor that she should not lift more than 35 pounds. Her job description requires lifting 40 pounds regularly, but lighter duty jobs, such as answering the phone and working at the reception desk, are available. Nevertheless, her employer stops scheduling her for shifts and tells her she must take unpaid Family Medical Leave, which would run out before the delivery of her baby and leave her without the income she needs to pay the 50% of her medical insurance her employer does not cover. Left with no choice, Tina loses her job.
“Jessica,” who is pregnant and works as a pharmacist’s assistant, needs to sit down occasionally throughout her day. Chairs are available for customers, but the pharmacy does not permit the staff to use them. As a result, Jessica loses her job.
For women like Tina and Jessica, whose stories are based on the experiences of real women who have called the Women’s Law Project, current anti-discrimination laws often do not go far enough.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), prevents an employer from treating a pregnant woman differently from how that employer treats non-pregnant employees who are similar in their ability or inability to work. Some courts, however, have limited the protections of this federal law by requiring pregnant employees to identify a non-pregnant employee who works in the same role and has almost identical limitations but is treated better by the employer in order to succeed with a lawsuit. Some courts even permit employers to refuse to accommodate pregnant employees when they accommodate non-pregnant employees because pregnancy is not a work-related condition. In short, despite the PDA, pregnant women are often treated differently from other employees with similar limitations.
Other laws do not provide better protections for pregnant women. Courts interpret the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act (PHRA) similarly to Title VII/PDA. In addition, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to disabled employees, usually does not apply to women experiencing ordinary pregnancy.
A handful of states have laws that prevent employers from terminating women from employment or forcing them to take paid or unpaid leave when a reasonable accommodation is available, but Pennsylvania is not one of those states. As a result of this gap in the law, many pregnant women in Pennsylvania, like Tina and Jessica, find themselves unemployed suddenly, without economic security and often without health insurance at a time when access to health care is crucial.
For Pennsylvania’s pregnant women and for women in many other states, the proposed federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act would offer important workplace protections. Introduced on May 8, 2012 by Representative Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and other representatives in the House, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act would:
- Require employers to make reasonable accommodations to employees who have limitations on the job related to their pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition, unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the employer.
- Prohibit employers from retaliating against employees who need an accommodation.
- Prohibit employers from forcing a pregnant employee to accept an accommodation she does not want.
- Prohibit employers from forcing a pregnant employee to take unpaid or paid leave if a reasonable accommodation is available.
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is modeled after the Americans with Disabilities Act, which has been in effect for over two decades. Thus, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act employs a familiar framework that simply requires that employers provide reasonable accommodations that do not present an “undue burden.” If passed, this law would help pregnant women stay employed and maintain their economic security and benefits, promoting the health of mothers and their families, while imposing only a minimal, temporary burden on employers.
Please contact your representative and tell them that they should support the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. To call your representative, dial 202-224-3121 and tell the operator the name of your representative.
For more information on this bill, take a look at the National Women’s Law Center’s Fact Sheet.
To learn more about the effects of sex bias and discrimination in the workplace on women’s health, stay tuned for WLP’s forthcoming report, Through the Lens of Equality: Eliminating Sex Bias to Improve the Health of Pennsylvania’s Women, which will be available online the week of May 14, 2012.
