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Pregnancy Discrimination Supreme Court Ruling - Geduldig vs Aiello - the ORIGINAL Pregnancy Supreme Court Case That Changed HR

John Thalheimer, MS and Chuck Simikian, SPHR, SHRM-SCP Episode 40

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Sylvia Aiello, was a pregnant woman who sought disability benefits under the California State Disability Insurance program. However, the program excluded coverage for pregnancy-related disabilities. Aiello argued that this exclusion violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The state, represented by Michael N. Geduldig, defended the exclusion, stating that pregnancy was not a "disability" covered under the program and that the program treated men and women equally.

In their on-going series – Supreme Court Cases That Changed HR…..John and Chuck breakdown this important case that launched many of the pregnancy discrimination and protection laws we have today. The Court's decision in this case was controversial, and as a result, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, eventually became a major Amendment to the Civil Rights Act – Title VII.

In the HR News segment, the team touches on the following topics and more:

  • Family medical leave updates that may come in the future
  • Creating psychologically safe workspaces
  • Target’s employees getting harassed
  • Unions in unique places

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The viewpoints expressed by the characters in the stories are not necessarily that of The Team at HR Stories. The stories are shared to present various, real-world scenarios and share how they were handled by policy and, at times, law. Chuck and John are not lawyers and always recommend working with an employment lawyer to address concerns.

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