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In February of 2019, a team of lawyers from the ACLU filed an
opening brief in a new Eleventh Circuit pregnancy bias action. This new action
involves an Alabama EMT named Kimberlie Durham (“Ms. Durham”), who has sued her
company for alleged pregnancy discrimination. She alleges that her employer did
not assign her to a less strenuous job during her pregnancy. Her work duties
required her to carry equipment, including stretchers, even though her doctor
said she should not lift anything more than 50 pounds. Ms. Durham argues that
her employer’s policy discriminates against pregnant women because the company
allows light-duty reassignments to employees injured on the job, but not to
expecting mothers.
Ms. Durham originally filed suit in an Alabama District
Court, where a federal judge ruled against Durham. She is now appealing to the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. This case will test the scope of
a 2015 U.S. Supreme Court Decision, Young v. United Parcel Service,
which put in place the requirements of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.
In Young, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the
Plaintiff and stated a standard where employers are to make accommodations for
pregnant employees to the same extent they do for their nonpregnant coworkers
who have a similar ability or inability to work. However, the justices did not
clearly tell employers when they are required to provide light duty to an employee.
In the ACLU’s opening brief, they contend the trial judge
misapplied the Supreme Court’s ruling, stating “under its reasoning, Young
might as well never have been decided.” Civil rights groups and the U.S. Equal
Employment Opportunity Council (“EEOC”) are backing Ms. Durham in her appeal as
friends of the court. They are also claiming that the trial judge’s ruling runs
counter to the decision made in Young.