Disability Benefits for Pregnant Employees under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
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Authors
Thornhill, Mark A.
Issue Date
1976
Volume
9
Issue
Type
Journal Article
Language
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
FIRST PARAGRAPH(S)|Employee non-occupational health and disability insurance plans commonly exclude pregnancy from compensable disabilities while providing coverage for all other temporarily debilitating conditions. As a result of this policy, the pregnant employee receives neither sick leave pay while she is absent from her employment nor compensation for medical expenses.|Affected employees have claimed that the denial of disability benefits for pregnancy constitutes invidious discrimination based on sex and violates the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment. These claims have met with mixed success, but the possibility of future equal protection actions for disability benefits was eliminated by the Supreme Court decision in Geduldig v. Aiello [Aiello]. In Aiello, the Court held that the exclusion of disability benefits for pregnant employees does not constitute invidious discrimination based on sex.|However, pregnant employees claiming disability and sick leave benefits under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 have been successful in recent cases. This recognition of Title VII claims for disability benefits will subject numerous employer-sponsored health insurance plans to charges of discrimination. The rationale for the recent judicial acceptance of Title VII disability benefit claims will be the focus of this comment...
Description
Citation
9 Creighton L. Rev. 360 (1975-1976)
Publisher
Creighton University School of Law