Maternal Health Care Gentes

PREGNANCY

Working women are becoming aware that they may be entitled to receive pay while pregnant. First, we have discovered that we cannot be arbitrarily forced to leave our jobs during pregnancy and therefore lose our income. Teachers are successfully fighting this discriminatory treatment in court and winning lost pay.

Paid pregnancy leave.

Of course, the best way to maintain an adequate income is to work and receive full pay for as long as possible. But there are other ways to compensate for the income lost during maternity leave. One of these is paid pregnancy leave. There are some industries which provide paid pregnancy leave for a limited amount of time and for a percentage of the full rate of pay. This is a benefit won through collective bargaining. Be sure to check with your union or company office to see if you are entitled to this type of benefit. (Just asking and forcing the company to say 'no' can be a source of satisfaction: "What! You don't have paid pregnancy leave!")

Something similar, but not as satisfactory, is the right you have to collect paid vacation and paid sick leave time you have accumulated. Many employers will attempt to deny your right to apply sick and vacation time to pregnancy leave-but they will lose their case if taken to court since the legal precedents are clearly established.

Maternity paternity benefits.

Another category of compensation is the lump sum paid benefit. An example of this is the benefit paid to garment workers by the International Ladies Garment Worker's Union. "A female worker will receive a benefit of $150.00 during any benefit year for each delivery upon' presentation of a birth certificate." A male garment worker whose wife gives birth is entitled to the

· same amount.

Disability insurance payments.

An area beginning to receive some atten tion is disability insurance applied to preg. nancy. Disability insurance is an incorne protection plan for illness requiring a doc tor's treatment and causing absence from work. It may be purchased individuall,

page What She Wants: July

or by a group of employees. In the case of Wetzel vs. Liberty Mutual Insurance, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia (Feb. 12, 1975) has upheld a lower court decision awarding disability payments for absence due to pregnancy.

The legal arguments are very interesting and could be applied to other forms of com. pensation now being denied, such as paid pregnancy leave. These were the more important arguments as reported in "Woman. power" newsletter:

INCOME

To the company's argument that pregnancy 15 voluntary; the Court says "Drinking intoxicating beverages, smoking, skiing, handball and tennis are all types of activities in which one could sustain harm...all disabilities that could result from the above activities are covered under the income protection plan...while one voluntary disability that is peculiar to women is not so covered ...Moreover, pregnancy itself may not be voluntary ...there is no 100% sure method of contraception, short of surgery..."

To the company's argument that the income protection plan covers illness and pregnancy is not an illness, the Court says the plan is designed to alleviate the economic burdens that result when an employee is unable to work. Pregnancy leaves a woman unable to work, results in loss of income and medical expenses, and the pregnant woman probably has hospital expenses while other disabled workers may not be hospitalized. Therefore pregnancy is no different from other disabilities, the Court finds.

To the company's argument that it would be too costly to cover maternity leave, the Court says, "Appellant has offered no statistical information from which we could conclude that the increased cost for pregnancy would be 'devastating....cost is no defense under Title VII." [Ed. note: the EEOC Guidelines cover cost under Section 1604.9(e). They read as follows: "It shall not be a defense under Title VII to a charge of sex discrimination in benefits that the cost of such benefits is greater with respect to one sex than the other."]

In conclusion, the Court finds that the Liberty Mutual income protection plan which excludes pregnancy is "neutral on its face but treats a protected class of persons in a disparate manner. This is precisely what Title VII intends to strike down."

If you are pregnant, or have given birth in the past year, and want to collect the disablity in. surance you are entitled to, here's what to do:

1. Make sure your employer has not already voluntarily complied with the EEOC guidelines. 2. If your employer doesn't allow disability payments, you must file a formal application for such payments. Official denial of such pay ments is absolutely essential before further action can be taken.

3. Have your doctor certify by letter how much, time your pregnancy and/or delivery will require you to be absent from your job.

4. Contact your local or state agency which administers equal employment practices. It is they who will file a complaint against your employer or your behalf.

5. If your local or state agency can't or won't act, contact the EEOC office in your state.

You must try the local agencies first because the EEOC cannot step in unless they fail to act.

Some other information: The statute of limitations on discrimination cases is one year, so if you've had a baby and lost time from work in the past year, you can still claim your disability payments. If you belong to a union. check with its officials to see if the union is taking any action on behalf of all its members. If it isn't, don't let that stop you. Also, talk to the women you work with; there is always the chance that as a group you may get your employer to change policy. In addition, any complaint filed can be done by a group as well as an individual. Be prepared for court appearances, affidavits, etc., if necessary. Remember your employer can't retaliate against you by firing you. Retaliation is discrimination and your employer can be brought to court on that basis alone. There are, of course, subtler forms of retaliation that are legally hard to prove, ranging from sarcasm to promotions that come through a little more slowly than you they otherwise might; you must decide for yourself whether it is worth risk.

It is evident from this brief survey of income protection for pregnancy that the best plans are held by women who have bargained collectively with employers and/or have been able to afford legal advice and lawyers thanks to their unions. Let this be good advice for us all to remember.

from cur sex.t ad file

Before

the company hires her...

you should make sure she's not pregnant.

Organon, Inc /Wasi Orange) New Jersey 07052

You can do what many large corporations are doing Make pregnancy testing a rout en pan of your pre-employment physical. And find the pregnant belt are your phratel gets involved in costly training programs as well as health and sick-pey coversat Routine pregnancy testing of all temple appi cents is now simple and practica! with the PREGNOSTICÓN 7 Minute Slide Tec