The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) Of 1978

699 Words3 Pages

Pregnancy Discrimination It is not uncommon today to see women in the work force. Women have been through many challenges to reach where they are today in the work force, such as sexual harassment, unequal pay and promotion issues. However, one challenge they face that Before the Pregnancy Discrimination act was passed, women could be forced to resign or take a leave of absence because of their pregnancy. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) of 1978 is an amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The act is to prohibit employers (in companies that employ 15 or more people) from discriminating against workers based on pregnancy, child birth or related medical conditions. The act requires that pregnant women be treated the same way other employees or job applicants are treated. There are several conditions which an employer cannot do when it comes to women who are pregnant or have a pregnancy related condition. Employers cannot refuse to hire, fire, promote or keep a woman from working based on pregnancy. An employer must also treat pregnant women the same way he treats all temporarily disabled employees if she can no …show more content…

Women made up almost half of the work force, however only a small percent were able to have insurance plans that would allow sick leave for pregnancy related conditions. The energy for the Pregnancy Discrimination Act came from a 1976 Supreme Court Decision (General Electric v. Gilbert) where the court held that denying benefits for pregnancy related disability was not discrimination. Women and advocates from various organizations and groups joined together to form the Campaign to End Discrimination against Pregnant Workers in reaction to the Gilbert decision. In 1977, Congress was presented with the legislation to overturn Gilbert and amend Title VII. This passed one year later and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act was