Affirmative action is defined as a set of procedures designed to eliminate unlawful discrimination among applicants, remedy the results of such prior discrimination, and prevent such discrimination in the future. Applicants may be seeking admission to an educational program or looking for professional employment.
Does the Pregnancy Disability Act of 1978 (“PDA”), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, apply retroactively, and therefore, does an employer violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by failing to restore service credits to female employees who took pregnancy leaves prior to Congress’ enactment of the PDA?
In 1987, Congress passed the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (“PDA”) to address the gap left by Title VII of the Civil Rights of 1964 (“Title VII”), which prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of sex. Prior to passage of the PDA, AT&T’s seniority system treated pregnancy leaves as different from disability leaves: women who took time off for pregnancy lost net service credit (“NCS”), which, among other things, was—and still is—the principal factor used to calculate pensions. Following passage of the PDA in 1978, AT&T immediately ceased reducing the NCS of women who had taken pregnancy leaves. However, AT&T did not restore service credits to female employees who took pregnancy leaves prior to the PDA’s enactment. Hulteen et al., all female employees who took pregnancy leaves prior to the passage of the PDA, sued AT&T. The Ninth Circuit held that AT&T violated Title VII’s prohibition of sex-based discrimination by failing to restore service credits to female employees who took pregnancy leaves prior to the PDA’s enactment. Petitioners, AT&T, argue that this reading impermissibly gives retroactive effect to the PDA.
Before the passage of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 (“PDA”), it was lawful to award less service credit for pregnancy leaves than for other temporary disability leaves. Gilbert v. Gen. Elec. Co., 429 U.S. 125 (1976). Accordingly, the questions presented are:
1. Whether an employer engages in a current violation of Title VII when, in making post-PDA eligibility determinations for pension and other benefits, the employer fails to restore service credit that female employees lost when they took pregnancy leaves under lawful pre-PDA leave policies.
2. Whether the Ninth Circuit’s finding of a current violation of Title VII in such circumstances gives impermissible retroactive effect to the PDA.
Title VII of the Civil Rights of 1964 (“Title VII”) prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of sex. See 42 U.S.C. § 2000e–2(a). When enacted, however, Title VII did not expressly prohibit discrimination on the basis of pregnancy. See Hulteen v.
· Wex: Law about the Civil Rights Act of 1964
· Wex: Law about ERISA
· The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Pregnancy Discrimination
· SCOTUS Blog on AT&T v. Hulteen
A civil right is an enforceable right or privilege, which if interfered with by another gives rise to an action for injury.
Oral argument: Apr. 22, 2009
Appealed from: United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit (June 13, 2008)
