The U.S. Supreme Court has scheduled oral argument for December 4, 2014 in a case involving allegations of pregnancy discrimination. Historically, claims of pregnancy discrimination have been analyzed the same as all other claims of gender discrimination under Title VII, with pregnant women being entitled to no better or worse treatment than non-pregnant employees. Where an accommodation was needed due to the pregnancy, the pregnant employee was required to request and qualify for an accommodation under the criteria set forth in the Americans With Disabilities Act, just as any other person seeking a disability accommodation would need to do. The precise issue to be addressed by the Supreme Court in this case is whether the Pregnancy Discrimination Act requires an employer that provides work accommodations to non-pregnant employees to also provide similar accommodations to pregnant employees who are “similar in their ability or inability to work”.
This post will be updated with more information about this case once oral argument has been held in December 2014. A decision by the Supreme Court is expected to be issued in the spring or early summer of 2015.
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