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Judith L. Lichtman, Senior Advisor, National Partnership for Women and Families

Time for Concrete Action to Stop Discrimination Against Pregnant Women and Caregivers

| Feb 15, 2012

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Today, I was honored to join a distinguished group of scholars, advocates, government officials, and legal and policy experts to discuss an issue of critical importance to working women and families in this country: discrimination based on pregnancy and caregiving.

The meeting was held by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and it focused on the latest research on these persistent forms of discrimination, enforcement of laws that prohibit discrimination, and actions employers and government officials can take to better protect pregnant workers, caregivers and families. It was on this last point that I focused my remarks.

The National Partnership has long been an advocate for pregnant women and caregivers in the workplace. We worked to pass the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and many other critical laws, and we continue fighting for anti-discrimination laws and policies today.

With good reason. Sadly, discrimination against pregnant women and caregivers is on the rise. So today, we urged the administration to aggressively address the issue by creating a multi-agency task force that can address critical gaps in research, outreach, education, policy development and enforcement.

This complex and pernicious type of discrimination needs a well-coordinated and comprehensive response. And the EEOC, U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) can all take concrete steps to strengthen their anti-discrimination work. Today’s EEOC meeting shows a commendable commitment to doing so.

The National Partnership made these specific recommendations:

  • EEOC should provide guidance and best practices for avoiding discrimination against pregnant workers and caregivers, in addition to training investigators to better identify this kind of discrimination, utilizing its own authority to file charges, enforcing recent caregiver guidance and participating in court cases as subject-matter experts.
  • DOL’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs should issue specific regulations and guidance on sex discrimination, and it should train investigators to identify both discrimination against pregnant workers and caregivers and violations of the FMLA.
  • DOL’s Wage & Hour Division receives thousands of FMLA complaints each year. More resources should be dedicated to enforcing this essential law. In addition, newly-updated surveys of workers and employers on the FMLA should be implemented, and data from past surveys should be carefully analyzed to assess needs.
  • We applaud the recent efforts of DOL Secretary Hilda Solis and the first lady to raise awareness about the FMLA’s military leave provisions. However, Bush-era regulations approved in 2008 made it more difficult for employees to take leave. These changes should be rescinded.
  • DOL should also enforce the new right to breaks for nursing mothers, because many hourly workers remain unaware of it.
  • DOJ enforces state and local government employers’ nondiscrimination obligations. It should prioritize action in pregnancy and caregiver discrimination cases.
  • And finally, OPM should ensure that the federal government is a model employer by implementing family friendly protections such as paid parental leave.

Working women and caregivers depend on equal opportunity in the workplace, and their families depend on them. We applaud the EEOC for bringing attention to this important issue, and we look forward to continuing to work with the administration to put an end to discrimination that threatens the economic security of our nation’s families. No worker should have to risk adverse treatment, lost income or loss of a job due to pregnancy, childbirth or family caregiving responsibilities.

Read my full written and submitted testimony here.

About the Author

Judith L. Lichtman

Judith L. Lichtman

Judith L. Lichtman has been a guiding and influential force in the women's movement for more than 40 years. She stepped down as president of the National Partnership for Women & Families in 2004, and is presently senior advisor at the National Partnership. Her commitment, vision, and talent as an attorney and advocate have made a profound difference for women and families across the United States.

Lichtman often says: "I went to law school because being a lawyer gave me a license for activism." After receiving her law degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1965, Lichtman worked for the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Jackson State College, the Urban Coalition, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and as legal advisor to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. In 1974, Lichtman became the executive director and first paid staff person for the Women's Legal Defense Fund (WLDF), which became the National Partnership for Women & Families in February 1998.

Under Lichtman's leadership, the National Partnership has been at the forefront of every major piece of civil rights legislation related to women and families for more than 40 years. Founded as a small volunteer group, the National Partnership has grown into a national organization with thousands of members and has become one of the country's most influential strategic forces, shaping national policy through its advocacy, lobbying, litigation, and public education. Lichtman's vision and the National Partnership's strength and direct leadership have resulted in the passage of some of the most important legal protections for American women and families, including the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 and the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993. In 1996, the National Partnership helped shape key provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) that make it easier for women and their families to get and keep health coverage. More recently, Lichtman has led efforts to promote patient protections and to bring paid family and medical leave to California.

Lichtman has been recognized by civic and legal organizations, business and labor leaders, and others for her strategic abilities, political savvy, effectiveness in creating powerful and diverse coalitions, and her tireless commitment to building a truly just society. President Clinton called Lichtman "a remarkable national treasure," and Washingtonian magazine has identified her as one of Washington, DC's most powerful women and Washingtonian of the Year in 1986. The Sara Lee Corporation awarded her the 1989 Frontrunner Award in the area of Humanities. That same year, the Women's Bar Association named her Woman Lawyer of the Year. In 2000, Lichtman received the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Hubert H. Humphrey Award for her contributions to the advancement of human and civil rights.

Says Lichtman, "For over 40 years, I've tried to make this world a better place for women and families. We've come a long way, but our work is far from done. My daughters, and all our children, deserve a future where every school and workplace is truly free of discrimination, and where all families have the support they need to succeed at home and on the job. I know from experience – if we can imagine it, we can make it happen."

Lichtman lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband Elliott. They have two married daughters and four grandchildren.

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