Menstruation Discrimination and the Problem of Shadow Precedents

The burgeoning menstrual justice movement highlights that women, girls, transgender men and boys, and non-binary persons may face discrimination or harassment due to their menstruation in workplaces, schools, prisons, and many other aspects of life. In recent years, a few courts have suggested such discrimination may violate Title VII, the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in employment. Their analysis focuses on the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), an amendment to Title VII passed in response to a Supreme Court case holding that pregnancy discrimination was not sex discrimination. The PDA overrode the decision by explicitly defining sex as including “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.” The menstruation discrimination cases thus implicate more general questions of how statutory overrides should be interpreted, a subject I’ve explored extensively in prior work. My research suggests that this nascent litigation campaign may face two distinct challenges. The first is that courts will simply deny the claims, reasoning that menstruation is not directly addressed by the text of the PDA and therefore should not be recognized as sex discrimination. The second—which is more subtle, and also perhaps more likely—is that courts could find such discrimination to be actionable, but do so relying solely on the PDA’s explicit reference to “medical conditions” related to pregnancy. While that would be helpful for addressing discrimination in workplaces, it could open the door to arguments that menstruation is outside the ambit of sex discrimination laws that were not amended in a manner analogous to how Title VII was amended. To avoid these potential risks, theorists and advocates should seek to establish that menstruation discrimination is discrimination on the basis of “sex” itself, in that it is a condition linked to female reproductive organs and associated with stereotypes about women’s inferiority. That reasoning, which suggests that the PDA is properly interpreted as signaling Congress’s disapproval with the Supreme Court’s unduly narrow understanding of what constitutes sex discrimination in the earlier pregnancy case, should apply not only to Title VII, but also to the interpretation of statutory and regulatory prohibitions on sex discrimination in non-employment contexts.

Pregnancy Discrimination

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Sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination, and power harassment

Fiona Creaser brings to us in her chapter resources in how to recognize and respond to the very real difficulties that women can face in their workplaces in the form of sexual harassment, workplace bullying, and maternity harassment. Through a detailed explanation of these different types of harassment, the reader can understand the warning signs of such behaviors and risks. She also provides resources on how to navigate one’s way through the systems that are in place to help those in such situations.

Combating Pregnancy Discrimination in the Netherlands

The Dutch Institute for Human Rights offers an easy accessible complaint procedure free of charge and has more recently focused on enforcing Dutch and EU anti-discrimination law in relation to pregnancy. In the context of a labour market increasingly characterized by so-called flexible work relations, recent research commissioned by this equality body shows that the non-renewal of a fixed-term employment contract of pregnant women is widespread. Proving that pregnancy was one of the reasons for the non-renewal of a contract often presents difficulties in practice, however. The enhanced awareness of the prohibition of pregnancy discrimination might even result in more hidden forms of discrimination, turning combating pregnancy discrimination into quite a challenge.

El giro constitucional de la protección a las mujeres gestantes en Colombia. Entre la inserción laboral y la protección de los derechos = The constitutional change of protection for pregnant women in Colombia. Between the labor insertion and the protection of rights

Resumen. En la reciente sentencia SU 075 de 2018, la Corte Constitucional Colombi­ana elimina la aplicación de la medida afirmativa de estabilidad laboral reforzada, que había sido contemplada para las mujeres gestantes, cuando no comunicaran su estado de embarazo. La nueva línea jurisprudencial establece que por el desconocimiento del empleador del es­tado de gestación de una trabajadora, no se configura discriminación al momento de terminar su contrato laboral, por lo cual puede ser despedida sin ningún tipo de protección. La Corte fundamenta el cambio, estableciendo que el amparo hasta ahora otorgado desnaturaliza los principios de las acciones afirmativas, generando un efecto contrario y desfavoreciendo a las mujeres en el acceso al empleo formal, pues ha creado una sobrecarga económica para el em­pleador. Por este motivo, en el presente artículo se analiza si la línea jurisprudencial se ajusta a Derecho y si el cambio establecido generará una reducción de las brechas de género en el empleo, permitiendo un mayor acceso al mercado de trabajo para las mujeres.Palabras clave: Acciones afirmativas, estabilidad laboral reforzada, embarazo, discrimi­nación, acceso al empleo.Abstract. In the recent judgment SU 075 of 2018, the Colombian Constitutional Court eliminated he application of the affirmative measure of reinforced labor stability, which had been contemplated for pregnant women, when they did not report their pregnancy status. The new jurisprudential line establishes that due to the ignorance of the employer of the preg­nancy status of a worker, discrimination is not established at the moment of terminating her employment contract, for which she can be dismissed without any type of protection. The Court bases the change, stating that the amparo granted until now denatures the principles of affirmative action, generating an opposite effect and disadvantaging women in accessing for­mal employment, since it has created an economic overload for the employer. For this reason, this article analyzes whether the jurisprudential line is in line with the law and whether the established change will generate a reduction of gender gaps in employment, allowing greater access to the labor market for women. Keywords: Affirmative actions, reinforced job stability, pregnancy, discrimination, ac­cess to employment.