On May 18, 2009, the United States Supreme Court ruled that an employer did not discriminate on the basis of sex or pregnancy when its calculation of pension benefits gave less retirement credit for pregnancy leave that occurred before April 29, 1979, than it did for disability leave. In AT&T Corp. v. Hulteen, the Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e, and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(k), do not require employers to alter their rules for bona fide seniority systems prior to April 29, 1979, the effective date of the PDA
In the Hulteen case, four former employees of AT&T who recently retired claimed that the company had violated their rights under Title VII and the PDA when the calculation of their pension benefits gave them less service credit for pregnancy leaves that occurred before April 29, 1979 than employees received for other types of disability leave. The employees claimed that the PDA made such rules illegal and that the employer should be required to use the current law in its calculation of benefits. The employer argued that it changed its rule regarding pregnancy leaves as of April 29, 1979, the effective date of the PDA, but that it was not required to change its service accrual rules for pregnancy leaves that occurred prior to that date. The Supreme Court agreed with the employer, finding that the PDA did not operate retroactively to make past actions illegal. Further, the Court found that the recently passed Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act did not affect the classification of pregnancy leaves before the effective date of the PDA.
This decision resolved a split between the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which oversees the federal courts in the western United States, and the 6th and 7th Circuit Courts of Appeals, which oversee the federal courts in several states in the Midwest, including Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. The Supreme Court's decision adopts the rulings of the 6th and 7th Circuits, which denied retroactive application of the PDA.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.