The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which has made discrimination against pregnant workers a focal point of its enforcement priorities over the past few years, ratcheted up its pressure on employers by publishing a new “Enforcement Guidance on Pregnancy Discrimination and Related Issues” this summer.
The Enforcement Guidance (“the Guidance”) reiterates basic principles that women cannot be discriminated against because they are pregnant, were recently pregnant or intend to become pregnant, or based on unfounded stereotypes that they may not be physically capable of working while pregnant or that the fetus may be harmed. The bulk of the Guidance is not controversial and tracks current case law.
