A nightclub supervisor suspends a six-month-pregnant server without pay until she is 'back in shape.' This action is most likely in violation of which law?

• A. Yes; this was poor judgment. The server should have been transferred behind the scenes.
• B. Yes; suspending her is in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
• C. No; attractive cocktail servers are essential to the function of the operation.
• D. Yes; it would have been better to offer to give her two weeks' pay.

Answer: (B)

Discrimination based on pregnancy is illegal. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, employers may not penalize or discipline a worker because she is pregnant or for pregnancy-related conditions. Suspending a six-month-pregnant server without pay until she is “back in shape” uses her pregnancy as the reason for an adverse employment action, which amounts to sex-based discrimination. The law requires treating pregnancy like any other temporary medical condition or disability, meaning accommodations or leave should be offered instead of punishment.

Choices that imply judgment about judgment or merit, or propose paying her regardless of the discrimination, don’t address the protected status issue and aren’t how the law would evaluate this action. The key takeaway is that using pregnancy to justify suspension violates the anti-discrimination protections in Title VII and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.