The Pregnancy Discrimination Act does not prohibit policies or practices that favor pregnant women. Employers should consider their obligations under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act as a floor, not a ceiling.
Many employers provide benefits for temporarily-disabled employees - leave, insurance, and so on. Under the PDA, pregnant employees are guaranteed access to the same benefits. The only limit is that benefits for pregnant women must be drawn to cover the actual period of physical disability - six-to-eight weeks for normal childbirth, for example. The guarantee of equal treatment is the “floor.”
The "not a ceiling" part of the PDA means that companies are free to increase their standard maternity leave beyond the standard sick or medical leave. This would actually provide a special accommodation to a pregnant woman/new mother which is not available to other temporarily disabled employees.
PDA does not require an employer to give any leave to a pregnant woman, either before or after childbirth. If an employer has no policy allowing leave for temporary disability, a pregnant employee could not use the PDA to demand maternity leave. She could also be lawfully fired for missing work. The Family and Medical Leave Act (discussed in detail below) does require mandatory unpaid medical leave for employees of large employers (over 50 employees), but many mothers-to-be work for smaller employers or are otherwise ineligible for FMLA leave.
This Q&A is an excerpt from our free Maternity Leave Insider eBook. Please feel free to download our FREE book and share with other moms and dads who need it!
Can An Employer Treat Pregnant Employees Differently?
