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AT&T Corp v. Hulteen - Pregnancy Discrimination Act
December 09, 2008 by Ross Runkel at LawMemo
A current violation? Improper retroactive application of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act?
That's what the argument is about in AT&T Corp v. Hulteen, being argued at the US Supreme Court on December 10, 2008. [Details, briefs]
The US Supreme Court is reviewing the 9th Circuit's judgment rendered in Hulteen v. AT&T Corp (9th Cir en banc 08/17/2007) (14-1).
For several decades, AT&T has used a Net Credited Service (“NCS”) date to calculate employee benefits, including eligibility for early retirement and pension payment amounts. The NCS date is an employee’s original hire date, adjusted forward in time for periods during which no service credit accrued. An earlier NCS date places an employee in a superior position for service-related determinations such as job bidding, vacation time and retirement benefits. Prior to enactment of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (“PDA”) in 1978, women taking pregnancy leave were treated less favorably than individuals taking disability leave.
After enactment of the PDA in 1978, AT&T provided service credit for pregnancy leave on the same terms as other temporary disability leave. However, no service credit adjustments or changes to the NCS date were made for female employees who had taken pregnancy leave under the earlier system.
Hulteen’s suit claims that AT&T violated Title VII and the PDA in its calculation of NCS credit. The 9th Circuit, en banc, agreed.
The US Supreme Court is reviewing the 9th Circuit judgment.
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