If a supervisor suspends a pregnant employee, which legal concept is at stake?

• A. A violation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Act.
• B. A violation of the Privacy Act.
• C. A violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
• D. A violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Answer: (C)

Discrimination based on pregnancy is protected under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, as clarified by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. Pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions are treated as aspects of sex, so suspending a pregnant employee simply because she is pregnant is illegal discrimination under Title VII. If the suspension were for a legitimate, non-pregnancy-related reason, that could be different, but using pregnancy itself as the basis for discipline is precisely the kind of prohibited discrimination Title VII forbids.

The other laws mentioned address different issues—privacy of government records or rules about wages and hours—so they don’t focus on protecting employees from pregnancy-based discrimination the way Title VII does.