Legal News

Infertility Treatments Protected, 7th Circuit Rules

By Dan Slater

Good news for women seeking infertility treatments: Last month, a three-judge panel for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals found women who need time off work for infertility treatments (an unpredictable and time-consuming process) may invoke the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 as potential protection against adverse action from employers. Here’s the opinion, and here’s a WSJ item from Sue Shellenbarger’s “Work & Family” column.

The ruling came in a case involving Cheryl Hall, a secretary who was laid off after taking time off for in vitro fertilization, then asking for more. Hall’s physician ordered her to stay in bed for several days after an embryo transfer in 2003; she took about 20 days off, court papers show. The procedure failed and she was approved for a second leave to try again. But her supervisors allegedly singled her out for layoff before the second leave, citing absenteeism for infertility treatments.

Without ruling on the merits of her case, the court gave Hall a green light to sue her former employer for pregnancy-related bias. According to Shellenbarger’s column, courts in other cases have held that because both men and women experience infertility, sex-bias protections don’t apply. In this case, the court held that because only women undergo time-consuming in vitro fertilization, they may be protected by sex-bias law. Treatment for men usually takes less time.

Hall was represented by Eugene Hollander. A spokesman for Hall’s former employer, Nalco, declined to comment on the case, but said the company is committed to treating all employees fairly. Nalco is seeking a re-hearing before a full 11-judge panel of the court.

Photo: iStockPhoto

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on August 13, 2008 (boomark / email).