How Employers Get Away With Firing Pregnant Women -- Legally

As a driver for UPS, Peggy Young sometimes had to lift up to 70 pounds on the job. When she got pregnant, her doctor said that probably wasn't a good idea and Young should stick to packages 20 pounds or less. Even though UPS routinely assigns "light duty" to injured or disabled employees, it put Young on unpaid leave. She lost her medical coverage.

Young sued in 2008. She lost, and joined the many other women who have tried, and failed, to prove their case in the courts. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received 5,800 pregnancy discrimination complaints in 2011, up from 4,000 in 1997. Complaints of pregnancy discrimination have become so common that the EEOC even held a hearing on the subject last month, examining how best to get employers to comply with the law.