Pregnant workers often experience extra hardships in the
workplace. It is very common for pregnant workers to require more
frequent rest breaks and bathroom breaks, to need to sit, and to
avoid heavy lifting. Such assistance is usually referred to as
“accommodation.”
Until now, however, no law required such accommodations. The
original Civil Rights Act of 1964 (CRA) prohibited discrimination
based on sex, but pregnancy was not addressed. Indeed, in 1976 the
Supreme Court held that discrimination against pregnant people was
not a form of sex discrimination—see General
Elec. Co. v. Gilbert, 429 U.S. 125 (1976).
Prior Litigation
Congress was incensed by this decision, so in 1978 they passed
an amendment to the CRA called the Pregnancy Discrimination Act
(PDA), explicitly to overrule General Elec.
Co. The PDA required that women affected by pregnancy and
related conditions had to be treated the same as other employees
based on their ability or inability to work. The
