The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is dealing with a number of pregnancy related suits and has settled another. In response to the increase in the number of these cases being made public, law makers are working on new laws that would protect pregnant employees against unreasonable discrimination and unlawful termination of their employment. The new plan that is being proposed would specifically target the employers who are being the most blatant in their discrimination.

Tabitha Feeny, formerly with Quest Intelligence Group is just one of the women involved with the EEOC's suits against pregnancy discrimination. Feeney reported that she had been fired while still out on maternity leave and that when the leave would have ended went back to the company to try to get her job back. When that failed, she applied for a similar position and was told that there were no open spots to be filled. During that time period, she alleges, several male security guards were hired.

The proposed new law will also try to crack down on illegal workplace policies that target pregnant women as well. According to insiders, Bayou City Wings, based in Texas, includes tips in the employee handbook to fire women in their third month of pregnancy. One manager told interviewers that he was told that it would not be responsible to allow the women to keep working and that it would be an ongoing safety issue.

Democrats in Congress are working on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act a bill that would give women similar protections and accommodations under the Americans With Disabilities Act. That might mean different things in different working situations. Currently, there are a number of problems that are allowing pregnancy discrimination to continue. Employers are given information about new laws or reminders about established laws so that they know what their legal obligations are. Employees, for the most part, are not given the full scope of available information and must take it upon themselves to educate against potential discrimination.

Some critics of the proposed bill say that it would penalize employers who have legitimate fear for the safety of pregnant workers. However, in most of the current pending suits, the jobs would present little to no adverse conditions to the woman or the fetus at all. With the exception of Tabitha Feeny, the others have all been wait staff who were fired because of pregnancy. Pregnancy discrimination is just as wrong as any other kind of discrimination and must stop.