A recent court ruling has expanded the reach of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.
An employee asked for time off to undergo in vitro fertilization. While the request was being processed, she was told her department was being restructured and she’d be losing her job.
The problem: When her manager told her about the layoff, he said it was “in her best interest due to her health condition.”
She took the company to court and won.
The PDA was passed to outlaw discrimination on the basis of “child rearing capacity.” And, as the judge ruled, that allows women to give birth, as well as receive pregnancy-related care — including in vitro fertilization.
Cite: Hall v. Nalco Co.
