A part-time driver was let go after a doctor said she could not lift heavy packages during her pregnancy, prompting her to file a discrimination lawsuit. The Supreme Court reinstated the lawsuit on Wednesday after a lower court dismissed it.
Peggy Young (at left) lost her UPS job in Virginia after she became pregnant.
Susan Walsh / AP
When the part time driver, Peggy Young, became pregnant in 2006, her doctor advised her against lifting anything more than 20 pounds for the first 20 weeks. But UPS, which requires its drivers to lift up to 70 pounds, told Young she couldn't work as a driver under the weight restriction and placed her on unpaid leave.
Young sued under the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which required employers to treat pregnant workers as "other persons not so affected but similar in their ability or inability to work."
Young argued that since UPS provided alternate light duty working conditions for other categories of employees, it should do the same for her.
Peggy Young with her daughter, Triniti, in 2014.
Jacquelyn Martin / AP
Since the lawsuit was filed, UPS has changed its policy and now offers light duty to pregnant employees.
Young's case, though, was dismissed when it reached the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia when a three-judge panel determined that the pregnancy law does not give pregnant women "a 'most favored nation' status," the New York Times reported.
The Supreme Court, however, vacated that decision, ruling that Young should have another chance at proving that UPS had discriminated against her. In their 6-3 majority opinion by Justice Stephen Breyer, the court noted that if UPS had accommodated so many other employees in other categories, "could it not accommodate pregnant women as well?"
The high court did not go so far as to say whether UPS had, indeed, discriminated against Young, instead sending the case back to the 4th Circuit for a final determination.
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/1E0kbUH
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