The federal government is issuing new guidelines designed to protect pregnant workers from on-the-job discrimination for the first time in 30 years, according to The Associated Press.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission update makes it clear that any form of workplace discrimination or harassment against pregnant women by employers is illegal, the AP reported.
"Discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions is a prohibited form of sex discrimination," the update said, according to the AP.
The guidelines were last updated in 1983 with the newly revised policy spelling out for the first time how the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended in 2008, might apply to workers with impairments related to pregnancy, the AP reported. It also emphasizes that any discrimination against women workers based on past or prospective future pregnancies is also illegal.
The updated guidelines come two weeks after the Supreme Court took under consideration a dispute over the EEOC's duty to try and settle charges of job discrimination before filing lawsuits against employers, the AP reported.
The issue has gained increasing attention and had vexed business groups as the Obama administration ratchets up its enforcement of the nation's anti-discrimination laws, according to the AP.
"Despite much progress, we continue to see a significant number of charges alleging pregnancy discrimination, and our investigations have revealed the persistence of overt pregnancy discrimination, as well as the emergence of more subtle discriminatory practices," EEOC chairwoman Jacqueline A. Berrien said in a statement, the AP reported.
The American Civil Liberties Union welcomed the update, saying Tuesday that it clarifies employers' obligations under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended in 2008, according to the AP.
"Far too many pregnant workers have been forced off the job and denied a paycheck just when they need it most, despite the fact that they are willing and able to come to work," said Laura W. Murphy, director of ACLU's Washington Legislative Office, the AP reported. "Pregnancy is not a justification for excluding women from jobs that they are qualified to perform, and it cannot be a basis for denying employment or treating women less favorably than co-workers."
