Body
WHEREAS, more than 35 years after the Pregnancy Discrimination Act made it illegal to discriminate against a woman because of her pregnancy, women still face discrimination on the job when they become pregnant, especially in physically-demanding jobs; and,
WHEREAS, while many women will work through their pregnancies with no need for changes in their jobs, others need minor, temporary adjustments to their job duties to continue safely working during pregnancy. Pregnant women across the nation have been denied or fired for requesting accommodations such as utilizing a water bottle at work or asking to sit down while performing their work related tasks; and,
WHEREAS, forty percent of all households with children under the age of eighteen include mothers who either are the sole or primary source of income for the family, and seventy-five percent of women entering the workforce will be pregnant at some point during their employment; and,
WHEREAS, the decision rendered by the Supreme Court in Young vs. UPS created legal ambiguities as to the rights of pregnant workers to seek reasonable accommodations from their place of employment; and,
WHEREAS, President Obama has previously called upon Congress to pass the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act at the White House Summit on Working Families in June 2013.
Title
NOW , THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh supports the efforts of Senator Casey to prohibit employers from denying pregnant workers employment or reasonable accommodations during the course of pregnancy, childbirth or other related medical conditions, through the introduction of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act; and,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh calls upon the Members of the Senate and House of Representatives of the 114th United States Congress to support Senate Bill 1512 and House Bill 2654, to establish, clarify, and guarantee the rights of pregnant workers in the U...
Click here for full text