EEOC updates pregnancy discrimination guidance

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued an update of its enforcement guidance on pregnancy discrimination that is based on the U.S. Supreme Court’s March ruling in Peggy Young v. United Parcel Service Inc.

That ruling revived a part-time worker’s pregnancy discrimination lawsuit against UPS, in which she had charged that the Atlanta-based package delivery company had acted unlawfully in refusing to accommodate her lifting restriction while it had accommodated other drivers who were unable to work for other reasons.

The EEOC said in its statement Thursday that the updates to the guidance are limited to several pages on the Young ruling, and reflects the high court’s conclusion that women may be able to prove unlawful pregnancy discrimination if the employer accommodated some workers but refused to accommodate pregnant women.

The EEOC said other topics in its guidance remain the same, including the Pregnancy Discrimination Act’s application to current, past and potential pregnancy, and the issue of terminating or refusing to hire someone because she is pregnant, among others.