Geduldig v. Aiello

In 1976, the female employees of General Electric sued, claiming that the pregnancy exclusions contained in their company's insurance plan violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Relying on its decision in Geduldig, the Supreme Court ruled that private employers did not violate federal law when they chose to deny medical disability payments to workers with maternity-related absences.

In 1978, Congress amended Title VII to include the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. The act specifically provided that "women affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions shall be treated the same for all employment-related purposes . . . as other persons not so affected but similar in their ability or inability to work . . . "