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Justices weigh bias claim of pregnant UPS driver

 
Published Dec. 4, 2014

WASHINGTON — Two of the three women on the Supreme Court vigorously questioned a UPS lawyer Wednesday over the company's refusal to give lighter duty to a pregnant worker, a closely watched case with potentially broad impact for female workers and their employers.

Questions from several justices during arguments suggested the court could be searching for a middle ground in the dispute between United Parcel Service and former driver Peggy Young.

UPS declined to give the woman temporary light-duty work so she could avoid lifting heavy packages after she became pregnant in 2006.

Young was in the courtroom Wednesday to hear the justices talk about employers' responsibilities under the 36-year-old Pregnancy Discrimination Act.

Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan repeatedly pressed UPS lawyer Caitlin Halligan over the Atlanta-based package delivery company's refusal to find a temporary assignment for Young.

The anti-discrimination law "was supposed to be about removing stereotypes of pregnant women as marginal workers. It was supposed to be about ensuring that they wouldn't be unfairly excluded from the workplace. And what you are saying is that there's a policy that accommodates some workers but puts all pregnant women on one side of the line," Kagan said.

Defending the company's actions, Halligan said UPS did not provide light-duty work to any employees unless they were injured on the job, had a condition that was covered by the Americans With Disabilities Act or lost their federal certificate to drive a commercial vehicle.