Published July, 2014

Questions and Answers about the EEOC's Enforcement Guidance on Pregnancy Discrimination and Related Issues (2014)

These Questions and Answers address the EEOC Enforcement Guidance on Pregnancy Discrimination and Related Issues (Guidance) released on June 14, 2014.

The Enforcement Guidance updates prior guidance on this subject in light of legal developments over the past thirty years.

The guidance includes discussions of:

• When employer actions may constitute unlawful discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 (PDA);

• The obligation of employers under the PDA to provide pregnant workers equal access to benefits of employment such as leave, light duty, and health benefits; and

• How Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which went into effect over a decade after the PDA and was amended in 2008 to broaden the definition of disability, applies to individuals with pregnancy-related impairments.