Supreme Court Rules for UPS Driver in Pregnancy Discrimination Case

The Supreme Court has given former UPS driver Peggy Young another chance to prove in district court that the company discriminated against her while she was pregnant. Young was placed on unpaid leave for most of her pregnancy after telling her supervisor her doctor advised her not to lift anything over 20 pounds.

The justices ruled in Young’s favor 6-3, with Antonin Scalia, Clarence Tomas, and Anthony Kennedy dissenting. In their majority opinion, the justices found that the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act requires lower courts to consider “the extent to which an employer’s policy treats pregnant workers less favorably than it treats non-pregnant workers similar in their ability.” (Young’s lawyers argued that employees who were injured and even those who lost their licenses due to drunk driving convictions were given more accommodation in their job duties than she was.)

UPS announced in October that they’d changed their policies on pregnant workers, saying in a memo that they’ll now be “prospectively be eligible for light-duty assignments.” Young’s case will return to the Fourth Circuit in Virginia.

Young, left, with attorney Sharon Fast Gustafson at the Supreme Court in December. Photo via AP