Supreme Court revives ex-UPS worker's pregnancy discrimination lawsuit

The Supreme Court is giving a former UPS driver another chance to prove her claim of discrimination after the company did not offer her lighter duty when she was pregnant.

The justices on Wednesday sided with former driver Peggy Young in throwing out lower court rulings that rejected Young's lawsuit.

The case concerned employers' responsibilities under the 37-year-old Pregnancy Discrimination Act. Atlanta-based UPS maintained that it obeyed the law because it provided light-work duty only in limited situations and did not single out pregnant women.

But the company changed its policy as of January and says it now tries to accommodate pregnant workers.

The vote was 6-3 in Young's favor. Justice Stephen Breyer wrote the majority opinion.

The outcome reflects a "middle ground" that Justice Elena Kagan suggested during arguments in early December. Courts must now re-examine Young's case with a more accepting view of the discrimination claim. UPS and other employers facing similar suits still are able to argue their policies were legal because they were based on seniority or some other acceptable reason.

Young's dispute with UPS arose after she gave her supervisor a doctor's note recommending that she not lift packages heavier than 20 pounds. Young, now 43, said she dealt almost exclusively with overnight letters, but UPS said its drivers must be able to lift packages weighing up to 70 pounds. Young left the company in 2009.

She lost two rounds in lower courts.

UPS has since changed its policy, and now says it will try to accommodate pregnant workers. Nine states also have adopted laws directing employers to do so.

In recent months, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has updated guidance to employers to make clear that they should accommodate people in Young's situation. Yet the U.S. Postal Service said it has made no change in policy and maintains the practice that UPS has now abandoned.