Posted on: Monday, February 21, 2005

Discrimination complaints from pregnant women rise

By Stephanie Armour
USA Today

The number of women claiming they've been discriminated against on the job because they're pregnant is soaring even as the birth rate declines.

Pregnancy discrimination complaints filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission jumped 39 percent from fiscal year 1992 to 2003, according to a recent analysis of government data by the Washington-based National Partnership for Women & Families. During that same time, the nation's birthrate dropped by 9 percent.

The surge in pregnancy complaints makes it one of the fastest-growing types of employment discrimination charges filed with the EEOC — outpacing the rise in sexual harassment and sex discrimination claims.

The charges are coming from women in entry-level jobs as well as those in executive suites. Well-known employers who have faced pregnancy-discrimination lawsuits include Wal-Mart, Hooters and Cincinnati Bell.

Employment lawyers say that, in many cases, employers are simply making honest mistakes as they try to understand a variety of federal and state laws governing issues such as pregnancy discrimination and family leave. They also say it's easy to overlook the costs of pregnancy to small employers, who may see productivity suffer significantly when women take time off after having a baby.

But pregnant women claim they've been unfairly fired, denied promotions and in some cases urged to terminate pregnancies in order to keep their jobs.

Mailyn Pickler, 23, of Mesa, Ariz., was working for auto dealership Berge Ford when she says she told a manager about her pregnancy. About a week later, she says supervisors told her she was being fired. They told her they were concerned that it would not be safe for her to drive, which was part of her job, while she was pregnant, according to the lawsuit.

Berge Ford did not return calls seeking comment.

"I burst into tears," Pickler says. "They thought I was not going to be able to do my job. They thought I would throw up or have a cramp. But pregnant women work every day. It just wasn't fair."

The EEOC filed a lawsuit on Pickler's behalf, and the case was settled out of court for $70,000.

The rise in pregnancy discrimination cases comes as more women of child-bearing age are in the labor force. Women make up about 47 percent of the total labor force, and are projected to account for more than half of the increase in labor force growth from 2002 to 2012, according to the Department of Labor.

And more working women are having children at a later age, when careers are better established and more is financially at stake. In 2000, the average American woman having her first child was nearly 25 years old. In 1970, the average age was 21.4 years for a first birth, according to a 2002 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Pregnancy discrimination cases also are costing companies more money. In fiscal year 2003, the EEOC and state and local agencies collected $12.4 million from charges of pregnancy discrimination (that amount excludes any awards obtained through lawsuits) versus $3.7 million collected in 1992.