U.S. Supreme Court Issues a Disappointing Ruling

The U.S. Supreme Court issued a disappointing ruling in the pregnancy discrimination case AT&T Corp v. Hulteen. AAUW officially supported the respondents in this case. The Hulteen case involved a group of women who took pregnancy leave at AT&T before the Pregnancy Discrimination Act became law. As a result, their pensions are smaller than those of women who took pregnancy leave at AT&T after 1978 and smaller than men who took short-term disability leave. The women argued that their pensions should reflect the new pregnancy leave policy, not the older, discriminatory policy. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the employees, and AT&T appealed. In 2008, AAUW joined the National Women’s Law Center on their amicus brief in support of the respondents.

Seven of the nine Supreme Court justices voted to overturn the lower court decision, ruling that Congress didn’t make the Pregnancy Discrimination Act retroactive.