Employer Law Blog

The U.S. Supreme Court recently established a new standard for analyzing claims under the Federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act. In Young v. United Parcel Service, Inc., the divided court held that a pregnant worker can show that the employer’s legitimate, non-discriminatory justifications are pretextual under the McDonnell Douglas burden-shifting framework if its accommodation policies impose a "significant burden" on pregnant workers and its reasons are not "sufficiently strong." Over Justice Scalia scathing dissent, the Court vacated the Fourth Circuit's decision granting summary judgment to UPS, and remanded the case for further consideration in light of the Court’s new standard and interpretation of the statute.