WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Dec. 3 heard oral arguments in a high-profile UPS case that may provide guidance for employers on whether they must provide “light duty” jobs or otherwise accommodate pregnant employees unable to perform their normal job duties.
The high court review is of a lawsuit filed by a pregnant UPS Maryland-based driver who alleged that in 2006 she was discriminated against because the company would not accommodate her with a job that would not require her to lift packages weighing up to 70 pounds, a driver requirement.
Peggy Young sued, saying she had been discriminated against under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its companion law the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978.
Young’s attorney, Samuel Bagenstos, told the justices that Young should have been accommodated in the same manner as any other employee who is disabled or can’t do normal job duties due to a work-related injury.
UPS attorney Catlin Halligan said that the company already has changed its policy and beginning Jan. 1 will try to accommodate pregnant employees with light-duty work.
It’s taken years for the case to reach the high court, which agreed to hear the case on appeal after UPS prevailed twice in trial court and the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr., who argued on Young’s behalf, said that the Obama Administration, which at first asked the court to reject the appeal, had a change of heart after the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission issued new guidance in July calling for employers to treat pregnant women the same as other employees who qualify for light work.
The Supreme Court is expected to issue its opinion in June.
“I’m hopeful,” Bagenstos told reporters after the hearing. “I think the arguments went very well.”
UPS did not immediately comment on the hearing.
