New York Times Letter to the Editor Calls for Workplace Protections for Pregnant Women

October 18, 2012 — "[C]ombating pregnancy discrimination is more than an issue of ethics; it's an issue of women's health and economic security," Dina Bakst -- co-founder and co-president of A Better Balance, an advocacy group for working families -- writes in a letter to the editor of the New York Times.

Bakst commends Alissa Quart, who explained in a recent Times opinion piece that many pregnant workers "experience negative treatment during their pregnancy or childbirth recovery period, or both." Bakst continues, "Pregnant workers, especially women in physically demanding jobs, are often pushed out on unpaid leave or, even worse, fired from their jobs for simply following doctor’s orders."

Bakst joins Quart in calling for passage of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (S 3565), which "would make clear that employers must provide reasonable accommodations for 'pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions.'" The bill would "not only create a more honest and equitable society, but it would also create a healthier, more economically secure one for women and families," she concludes (Bakst, New York Times, 10/16).