A recent case heard before the U.S. Supreme Court, Young v. UPS (issued March 25, 2015), caught the attention of many women and employers as well. In Young, the Court interpreted the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), in particular the second clause of that Act, which reads that employers must treat “women affected by pregnancy…the same for all employment-related purposes…as other persons not so affected but similar in their ability or inability to work.”

Young, a part-time driver for UPS, had suffered several miscarriages prior to the pregnancy at issue in this case. She was told by her doctor that she could lift only 20 pounds during the first 20 weeks of her pregnancy, and then only 10 pounds until the pregnancy was over. UPS advised Young that she was not to return to work at UPS until she could lift the required 70 pounds that her particular job required. Young subsequently exhausted all of her Family and Medical Leave Act time, took an unpaid leave of absence and eventually exhausted all of her medical benefits. After her child was born, she returned to work and filed a lawsuit against UPS.

Originally published on Law.com on May 25, 2015.