While EEOC and employment lawyers have litigated cases from all levels of professions, new data clearly demonstrates pregnancy discrimination claims filed with the EEOC are primarily made by women working in low-wage fields. This form of discrimination hits almost every industry and geographic area of the nation.

Fields for Pregnancy Discrimination

Of the pregnancy discrimination cases filed in 2013, health care and social assistance fields have the largest number of reports, followed next by the retail industry, accommodations and food services, administrative support, and manufacturing.

Young v. UPS

Oral arguments were heard on December 3rd for the Supreme Court case Young v. UPS. This case is set to determine if employers must provide pregancy-related accommodations to employees just as they would supply accommodations to employees injured on the job. According to Dina Bakst who heads A Better Balance, a firm that pushes for clarity of the legal protections of pregnant workers, “low-wage workers, being denied a reasonable accommodation and forced out on leave can often mean putting a family at economic risk.” She went on to say, “We know pregnancy discrimination impacts women most in non-traditional and low-wage sector jobs,” Bakst said. “It’s like they’re holding up a sign saying, ‘You’re not welcome.’ ”

Discrimination Location

The EEOC statistics also show the location of filed claims. In 2013, the EEOC’s Miami district had the highest number of filed cases, followed by Philadelphia, and Charlotte.