The Legal Environment of Human Resources Management 61The Pregnancy Discrimination Act requires that employers provide full
benefi ts coverage for pregnancy. A woman unable to work for pregnancy -
related reasons is entitled to disability benefi ts or sick leave on the same
basis as other employees unable to work for other medical reasons.
States may pass their own laws requiring additional benefits for
pregnant employees beyond the scope of the federal law. The Supreme
Court upheld a California law that required employers to provide up to
four months ’ unpaid pregnancy disability leave with guaranteed reinstate-
ment, even though disabled males were not entitled to the same benefi t
( California Federal Savings & Loan Association v. Guerra , 1987).Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967
The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) was enacted by
Congress in 1967 to prohibit discrimination in employment because of age
in matters pertaining to selection, job retention, compensation, and other
terms and conditions of employment. Congress intended to promote the
employment of older persons based on their ability rather than age and to
prohibit arbitrary age discrimination in employment. In 1974, the ADEA
was amended to extend coverage to state and local government employees,
as well as most federal employees.
The ADEA at that time protected workers between the ages of
forty and sixty - fi ve. Employers were granted four exemptions to the act:
(1) where age is a BFOQ reasonably necessary to normal operation of a
particular business; (2) where differentiation is based on reasonable factors
other than age; (3) to observe the terms of a bona - fi de seniority system
or a bona - fi de insurance plan, with the qualifi cation that no seniority
system or benefi t plan may require or permit the involuntary retirement
of who is covered by ADEA; and (4) where an employee is discharged or
disciplined for good cause.
The ADEA was amended in 1978 by raising the upper limit to seventy
years of age; that limit was removed in 1987, meaning that compulsory
retirement for most jobs is now illegal. The ADEA applies to employers
with twenty or more employees, unions of twenty - fi ve or more members,
employment agencies, and federal, state, and local governments.
On April 1, 1996 the Supreme Court ruled in O ’ Connor v. Consolidated
Coin Caters Corporation (1996) that an individual claiming age discrimination
must show a logical connection between his or her age and his or her
discharge, but there is no requirement to show that the replacement was
under forty years old. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote that “ the fact that one