Thirty-six years ago this week, the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act was signed into law. The law protects pregnant workers from job discrimination, and requires that employers treat pregnant workers the same as other workers in similar situations (like those with temporary disabilities).

Unfortunately, many women are still denied reasonable accommodations at work when they get pregnant. For example, Quinniya Hearn was working at Chicago’s Roseland Community Hospital as a mental health counselor when she became pregnant. According to a lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on her behalf, Ms. Hearn asked Roseland to accommodate her high-risk pregnancy by temporarily excusing her from restraining disorderly and combative patients.  Roseland refused to accommodate her medically ordered restrictions, but granted the same request when made by a male security guard with an injury. Roseland later fired Ms. Hearn, allegedly because of her pregnancy as well.

The EEOC has made fighting pregnancy discrimination a priority issue in recent years, filing a number of lawsuits and issuing new guidance on pregnancy discrimination for employers. In April, EEOC Commissioner Chai Feldblum expressed shock at how many employers and employees don’t realize that pregnancy discrimination is illegal.  Illinois recently addressed the issue by enacting a law that expands workplace protections for pregnant employees, including requiring employers to tell employees about their rights.
 

Have you experienced pregnancy discrimination at work?  Tell us about it here.
 
 

Over the weekend, the State of Illinois announced that it too would impose a mandatory quarantine on health care workers who return to Illinois after providing professional care to those suffering with Ebola in West Africa.  In response to this announcement, ACLU of Illinois Executive Director Colleen Connell issued the following statement:

As we continue to gather information about the State's plans for a quarantine policy related to Ebola, we urge such policy to be guided by public health care professionals, not politicians. Forcibly quarantining an individual who is not exhibiting symptoms of any disease is a dramatic step, fraught with numerous constitutional questions. A forced quarantine is, at its core, the deprivation of fundamental liberty. Government should not exercise this authority without clear standards (based on public health science) and without an ability to have a decision to quarantine reviewed. This is what our Constitution demands, and without appropriate due process there is a risk that the State will abuse its authority.

For all these reasons, the State of Illinois should be very cautious before it implements this policy.

ACLU of Illinois’ LGBT and HIV Project Director John Knight appeared on the WBEZ program Afternoon Shift to discuss discrimination against transgender individuals in employment and other contexts. The discussion was generated by the case of Tamara Lusardi, a civilian Army employee who is also transgender, after she experienced discrimination in the workplace. According to a recent study by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National LGBTQ Task Force, 90 percent of transgender individuals report discrimination in the workplace. John Knight spoke about the ruling in Tamara's case and the challenges faced by transgender persons in our society:

"...it's groundbreaking to have this kind of movement in protecting veterans. Although of course we're talking about veterans in a civilian capacity. Particularly to recognize that these kinds of things that so many transgender people face...being forced to use a single-use bathroom, misuse of pronouns -- those things are really harmful and to have recognition of that from the Office of Special Counsel is really wonderful news."

Listen to the entire segment below:

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