UPS High Court Brief Signals Pregnancy Accommodation Shift - Law 360
United Parcel Service Inc. told the U.S. Supreme Court that it didn't violate the law by denying a pregnant worker's request for light duty in 2006 but added that it was changing course and making temporary light duty work available to pregnant employees with physical restrictions.
The world's biggest package delivery company filed an Oct. 24 brief that urged the nation's highest court to affirm a Fourth Circuit ruling that nixed a bias suit filed in 2008 by delivery driver Peggy Young, who took leave for in vitro fertilization and was deemed unable to perform the essential functions of her job because of a lifting restriction and ineligible for light duty when she tried to return.
Under a collective bargaining agreement with the Teamsters Union, of which Young was a member, workers could get temporary alternative assignments under certain circumstances, such as if they were hurt on the job, were disabled or lost their Department of Transportation certification. But workers with restrictions stemming from pregnancy don't get the same accommodations, Young said in a June high court filing.
United Parcel Service Inc. told the U.S. Supreme Court that it didn't violate the law by denying a pregnant worker's request for light duty in 2006 but added that it was changing course and making temporary light duty work available to pregnant employees with physical restrictions.
The world's biggest package delivery company filed an Oct. 24 brief that urged the nation's highest court to affirm a Fourth Circuit ruling that nixed a bias suit filed in 2008 by delivery driver Peggy Young, who took leave for in vitro fertilization and was deemed unable to perform the essential functions of her job because of a lifting restriction and ineligible for light duty when she tried to return.
Under a collective bargaining agreement with the Teamsters Union, of which Young was a member, workers could get temporary alternative assignments under certain circumstances, such as if they were hurt on the job, were disabled or lost their Department of Transportation certification. But workers with restrictions stemming from pregnancy don't get the same accommodations, Young said in a June high court filing.
