Catherwood LibraryILR School

Data collected by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over the past decade shows a disturbing pattern of increasing discrimination against pregnant female employees, with complaints of incidents increasing twenty-seven percent nationwide since 1992. The increased reports of pregnancy discrimination have confused experts, and resulted in a range of explanations including increased worker awareness of the law and their rights, and attempts by male managers find excuses for resisting the movement of women into historically male-dominated jobs. Banned by the 1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act---which also requires that employers provide modified duties or unpaid leave to pregnant workers---pregnancy discrimination is an especially endemic problem in Arizona where such discrimination has increased by an overwhelming 182 percent in the past decade according to the EEOC.