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'Maternal Profiling' Enters the Lexicon

By Michael W. Fox, Esq.

I used to get a feel for developments in labor and employment law by the seminar brochures I regularly receive, but of course in the world of the Internet that is now passe and it is my fellow bloggers who are most likely to tip me off. Family responsibility discrimination is certainly a much written about topic and so I am becoming increasingly sensitized to its mention as a new variant of discrimination claim.

But even I was caught off guard over a development picked up by my Canadian friend and counter-part, Michael Fitzgibbon in his blog, Thoughts from a Management Lawyer, who links to an article Maternal Profiling - a Buzzword with a Serious Meaning which also alerted me to an organization, Mom'sRising which is dedicated to a number of causes of interest to mothers, including it seems maternal profiling. For e.g. as of a few minutes ago, checking out their website would get you the following pop quiz:

Pop Quiz: What's Maternal Profiling?
a. The practice of selling stiff undergarments that promise a return to one's pre-pregnancy profile.
b. How the Oprah Show executives determine their prime demographic.
c. Employment discrimination against a woman who has, or will have, children.

Michael kindly reminds us that this development may well be of more importance to American readers than Canadian, although he does provide links to some of the latest governmental developments north of the border. For the take on this side, here's the latest from the EEOC in their Enforcement Guidance on Unlawful Disparate Treatment of Workers With Caregiving Responsibilities.

When we get new words for "bad" conduct, new lawsuits can't be far behind.

Full post as published by Jottings By An Employer's Lawyer on January 04, 2008 (boomark / email).