Walmart Pregnancy Accommodation Ruling Puts Pressure on Congress

A recent Seventh Circuit decision upholding a Walmart distribution center’s temporary light duty policy that excludes pregnant workers is creating urgency for the Senate to pass bipartisan legislation that would require such accommodations.

The retail giant convinced the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit earlier this week that its temporary light duty policy lawfully only covered workers injured on the job, and didn’t illegally exclude pregnant employees. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which sued on behalf of female employees at Wal-Mart Stores East LP in Wisconsin, had argued that the policy goes against federal nondiscrimination law.

Meanwhile, ...