Dependents' pregnancy-related medical benefits and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.

Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of sex. In 1978, Congress amended Title V112 with the express purpose of reversing an earlier Supreme Court decision 3 , General Electric Co. v. Gilbert, 4 in which the Court held that exclusion of pregnancy coverage from a disability-benefits plan did not constitute sex-based discrimination under Title VII. 5 The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) 6 defines "sex" under Title VII to include pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions, and thus establishes that discrimination in employment on the basis of pregnancy constitutes discrimination on the basis of sex. (a) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer-(I) to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national ongin; or (2) to limit, segregate, or classify his employees or applicants for employment in any way which would deprive or tend to deprive any individual of employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect his status as an employee, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. (remarks of Senator Bayh) ("This legislation was made necessary by an unfortunate decision rendered by the Supreme Court in the case of Gilbert v.