The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) requires employers to treat pregnant workers the same as they treat those who are “similar in ability or inability to work.” At issue in  the Supreme Court case Young v. United Parcel Service, Inc. is whether an employer who accommodates the medical needs of employees (as is often required by virtue of the Americans with Disabilities Act, for example) must extend the same type of accommodations to pregnant workers with medical needs.

Too many employers still deny pregnant women basic accommodations that would allow them to continue working and the courts have ignored the clear language and intent of the PDA in allowing this to continue. As a result, pregnant women are forced to choose between their jobs and their health. This amicus brief, filed on behalf of 123 Members of Congress, analyzes the plain language of the PDA and sets out Congress’s desire to ensure fair and equal treatment of pregnant workers through passage of the PDA.