If a woman is temporarily unable to perform her job due to a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth, the employer or other covered unit must treat her in the same way as it treats any other temporarily disabled employee. The employer may have to provide light duty, alternative assignments, disability leave, or unpaid leave to pregnant employees if it does so for other temporarily disabled employees. (eeoc.gov)
The 14th Amendment states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall
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In 2006, Mrs. Young requested a leave of absence to perform a vitro fertilization procedure in an effort to become pregnant. This procedure was successful and Young became pregnant. During the early terms of her pregnancy, Young’s doctor instructed her not to lift over 20 pounds to prevent risk or harm to her and her unborn child. Following this advice, Young informed her company (UPS) of her medical situation and requested a lighter work duty. UPS declined her request, stating that it was the company’s policy to provide light-work duty only in three limited situations: for those employees that were injured on the job, had temporarily lost their federal certificate to drive a commercial vehicle, or had a condition that was covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). (huffingtonpost.com)
UPS employee policy requires drivers to be able to lift up to 70 pounds. Since Mrs. Young was unable to fulfill this work requirement, due to her pregnancy and because she had used up all of her available Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) leave time, UPS forced Young to take an extended unpaid leave of absence. At this time, Young lost her health coverage. In April of 2007, Young gave birth, a couple of months later returned to work as a driver at UPS. In 2009 Young left UPS.