A Case Study of the 1978 Federal Pregnancy Disability/Discrimination Act

Kathleen K. Toth, The College of Wooster

Abstract

The 1978 Federal Pregnancy Disability Act, enacted under a broad-base coalition campaign for pregnant women labor rights, is a clarifying extension of Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. This paper attempts to explain several aspects of the forces involved in the policy change process by using a synthesized approach encompassing agenda-setting theories, theory on symbol usuage and theory on social control. A case study investigation, utilizing this synthesized theoretical framework, proved useful in understanding the setting, the political groups involved, and the issues that came into play in developing this Act. The Act promoted equality of practice, but did nof dictate any practice. The Act mandated that if employers give disability insurance benefits, they must give equally to all employers. Because of this, there was little opposition on the final bill. The only opposition stemmed from the anti-abortion language which was later amended to the original bill.