Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978

Identification U.S. federal legislation

Date Enacted on October 31, 1978

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act mandated equal treatment by employers of their employees affected by “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.” Thus, it addressed the unique situation faced by many female employees and set guidelines to ensure that fair, across-the-board standards were applied both in hiring and in the workplace.

The years after World War II witnessed a steady increase in the numbers and proportion of women in the workforce. Many employers therefore were faced with unprecedented situations involving pregnancy and related conditions and responded in diverse ways. Some acted in a manner that was alleged to be unfair and discriminatory; in the 1960’s and 1970’s, the emergence of a more politically active women’s movement brought these issues to the forefront.

In 1978, a bill was introduced amending the Title VII section of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by adding a provision that made it illegal for employers with fifteen or more employees to discriminate on the basis of all matters relating to pregnancy and childbirth for “all employment-related purposes.” In effect, the act legally equated pregnancy and childbirth with physical disability. This legislation had been precipitated by the 1976 Supreme Court decision General Electric v. Gilbert in a class-action suit filed against General Electric over the company’s health plan, which did not cover pregnancy and childbirth conditions. The Court ruled that this particular case did not constitute sex discrimination and that the issue was not between the sexes but between pregnant and nonpregnant individuals. The bill therefore attempted to correct this legal ambiguity by specifically defining pregnancy and childbirth as conditions falling under the provisions of the Civil Rights Act.

The major objection arose over the question of employer-supported insurance coverage for abortions. After much deliberation, the decision was made that an employer would not be obliged to pay for health benefits covering abortion, except when the mother’s life was in jeopardy or in the case of subsequent complications resulting from abortion procedures. Provisions were added both to set the effective date for the law’s implementation and to safeguard against employer attempts to reduce the benefits provided once the act was in place.

Impact

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act transformed employer policy over maternity issues and though many women’s rights advocates criticized its provisions as not having gone far enough and of not being very effective in situations in which employers provided few or no health benefits, it was undoubtedly a breakthrough in safeguarding against a particular form of gender bias.

Bibliography

Benokraitis, Nijole V., and Joe R. Feagin. Modern Sexism: Blatant, Subtle, and Covert Discrimination. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1984.

Davis, Flora. Moving the Mountain: The Women’s Movement in America Since 1960. New York: Touchstone, 1991.