PBS高端访谈:老板必须要对怀孕员工特殊照顾吗?

 　　GWEN IFILL: Today, the Supreme¹ Court heard arguments in the case of Peggy Young, a former UPS driver who says the company discriminated² against her when she was pregnant. UPS placed Young on unpaid³ leave for several months because she was unable to perform her required duties, they said.

　　Young's lawyers say the company's actions violated the Pregnancy⁴ Discrimination Act. Women's rights groups and members of Congress rallied outside the Supreme Court this morning to support Young.

　　But there are at least two sides to the argument.

　　Joining us to describe what happened inside the court today, Marcia Coyle of "The National Law Journal," Emily Martin, vice⁵ president and general counsel for the National Women's Law Center, and Karen Harned, executive director of the National Federation⁶ of Independent Business' Small Business Legal Center.

　　Marcia, I want to start with you and with the law. Let's look at this 1979 law, '8 law. I'm always getting that wrong. If I put on my glasses, I can see it.

　　MARCIA COYLE, The National Law Journal: OK.

　　GWEN IFILL: It says, "Discrimination on the basis of pregnancy is illegal sex discrimination, and pregnant women shall be treated the same for all employment-related purposes as other persons not so affected⁷, but similar in their ability or inability to work."

　　Sounds pretty straightforward⁸ and pretty simple.

　　MARCIA COYLE: Simple, until you get into the Supreme Court and start arguing what the language means.

　　Today, the arguments really focus primarily on that second clause, how to treat pregnant workers. UPS has argued and it argued today that it has basically a pregnancy-blind policy. It offers accommodations to workers whose injuries occur or conditions develop on the job, not off the job.

　　So it's not singling out pregnant workers. They are being treated like all of UPS' other workers who have injuries or conditions that develop off the job. And it looked at that second clause and said, that's not a freestanding, independent claim to bring — to charge discrimination against UPS.

　　It is tied to the basic prohibition⁹ against pregnancy discrimination. Well, Ms. Young's attorney says, OK, let's look at the language of that clause again. It says nothing about on-the-job, off-the-job distinctions. It also doesn't speak to the cause or the source of the limitation on the worker.

　　Instead it says, you're to compare the pregnant worker limitation with non-pregnant workers who have similar limitations on their ability or inability to do the job. And also he claims that UPS doesn't have a pregnancy-blind policy because it does offer accommodations to workers, for example, who lose their Department of Transportation certificate that allows them to drive. And also it accommodates workers with conditions that are recognized by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

　　GWEN IFILL: Now, I gather this was a pretty lively set of arguments today at the court.

　　MARCIA COYLE: Very, very lively.

　　Justice Scalia and some other justices looked at the way Mrs. Young's attorney reads that clause. Justice Scalia used the phrase, it's so broad the way you're reading it that you're seeking most-favored nations treatment for pregnant workers.

　　Well, he was sort of expressing the concern that businesses that are supporting UPS say here, that any time an employer gives an accommodation to a worker with a limitation, regardless of how it happened or its severity, a pregnant worker is going to seek that same accommodation.

　　But, on the other side, Justices Ginsburg and Justice Kagan, for example, said that UPS' reading is so narrow that it is giving least-favored nation treatment to pregnant workers. And also the reading, according to Justice Kagan, it really makes the second clause redundant¹⁰ here, meaningless, and Congress could not have intended to do that.

　　GWEN IFILL: The administration had argued against bringing this case and now is on the other side. Right?

　　MARCIA COYLE: Right.

　　GWEN IFILL: How did that flip¹¹ happen?

　　MARCIA COYLE: Well, it didn't argue because it didn't think the case wasn't worthy¹², but the administration did have a change of policy. For many years, it read that section the same way that UPS reads it.

　　In 2014, this year, over the summer, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued new guidance. And its guidance on this supports Mrs. Young's interpretation¹³ of the law. And since the Department of Justice does follow EEOC guidance, that is how the administration is pursuing these cases now.

　　GWEN IFILL: Karen Harned, I want to start with the — a little bit of what the debate is. Is this a debate between employees' rights and employers' rights?

　　KAREN HARNED, National Federation of Independent Business: Well, it's really a debate between — we would first say it's a debate on what the law actually says, and we would be in the category that we definitely believe that if Ms. Young were to prevail, it would create a super protected class for the pregnant worker.

　　Our concern really is that there need to be limits. And if Ms. Young were to prevail, there wouldn't be the limits that you even see with the Americans with Disabilities Act, where if an accommodation would be an undue¹⁴ hardship on a business, that would be considered and you would also look at whether or not the accommodation was reasonable.

　　These are really questions that are better answered in Congress and the state legislatures, not through the Supreme Court, we think, rewriting the law.

　　GWEN IFILL: Emily Martin, are we just arguing this debate in the wrong place?

　　EMILY MARTIN, National Women's Law Center: Well, I think this case is critically important because it's really about whether the Pregnancy Discrimination Act means what it says.

　　And it's of critical importance for women around the country. Unfortunately, Peggy Young's story is not unique. At the National Women's Law Center, we hear again and again from women who have lost their job, have lost their paycheck because their employer refuses to make a simple accommodation like letting the cashier sit at a stool during an eight-hour shift late in her pregnancy.

　　And, as a result, women are being forced to choose between their jobs and a healthy pregnancy. And that's not a choice anybody should have to make.

　　GWEN IFILL: What is the difference — I'm going to ask the two of you, what's the difference between omitting coverage¹⁵ for a protected class or actively¹⁶ discriminating¹⁷? What is your sense about that?

　　KAREN HARNED: Well, I think — and UPS argued this today — there are good business reasons why a company is going to have different classes of benefits for different classes of employees, part-time vs. full-time¹⁸, in this instance, those injured on the job vs. those not, which is very common.

　　You need to be able to have that flexibility¹⁹. And then, also, for the small employer in particular, their ability to backfill and make up for work lost by an employee is much more difficult when you're looking at a work force of 15 or 16 than with one of 200 or more.

　　GWEN IFILL: But do the anti-pregnancy discrimination laws that exist rule out allowing that protected class for this particular sort — subset of employees?

　　EMILY MARTIN: So, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act was passed for a very specific reason, to repudiate²⁰ a previous Supreme Court case from 1976 where the Supreme Court said it's not sex discrimination for an employer to have a temporary disability insurance policy that covers all accidents and injuries, excludes pregnancy.

　　And Congress said very clearly, no, you have to treat pregnancy the way you treat other disabilities and injuries that can have an effect on a person's ability to work. That was the precise purpose of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, to keep pregnant workers from being treated like second-class citizens in the workplace.

　　GWEN IFILL: So what you're saying is that the argument that Karen Harned makes is a second-class-citizens argument?

　　EMILY MARTIN: I think that what UPS is arguing is that the fact that they have found a way to accommodate people with on-the-job injuries, people with disabilities under the ADA, people who have lost their commercial driver's license²¹, that should mean that they can accommodate pregnant workers, too. That's exactly what the Pregnancy Discrimination Act was intended to create.

　　GWEN IFILL: And it should be said that both UPS has changed its policy and the EEOC has changed its guidelines since this case came.

　　KAREN HARNED: Correct.

　　But, again, I would put to, for all employers, this one-size-fits-all is not going to work. When you're talking about small work force, maybe a small restaurant with only three servers working over the weekend, you lose one of those servers or some of their abilities to work, that's much harder for a small business owner to address.

　　That's why you need the balance that you get in things like the Americans with Disabilities Act, where you're also looking at undue hardship, what is a reasonable accommodation for those business operations to continue. Those are debates that need to happen in Congress, not at the court.

　　EMILY MARTIN: But, you know, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act only requires equal treatment. So it just requires the employer to do for the pregnant worker what it's already doing for another worker who has a similar inability to work.

　　GWEN IFILL: Marcia, one of the things I find most interesting about this case is the odd bedfellows who agree on one side of this. You seldom see pro-life and pro-choice people arguing the same — making the same case.

　　MARCIA COYLE: Right. I can't remember when that has happened in the past.

　　You have civil liberties group, women's rights group. As you said, I think something like 23 pro-life organizations have all joined to support Ms. Young.

　　GWEN IFILL: What is the common thread?

　　MARCIA COYLE: The need to ensure that pregnant women who are in the work force do get equal treatment and don't — and aren't forced, as Ms. Young was, to go on unpaid leave, where she also least her health insurance.

　　On the other side of UPS', as you would expect, are businesses large and small, and also Eagle Forum²², which is a rather conservative organization.

　　GWEN IFILL: Women's group, that's right.

　　MARCIA COYLE: Right.

　　GWEN IFILL: OK.

　　Marcia Coyle, "National Law Journal," Emily Martin of the National Women's Law Center, and Karen Harned of the National Federation of Independent Business, thank you all very much.

　　EMILY MARTIN: Thank you.

　　KAREN HARNED: Thank you.

　　MARCIA COYLE: My pleasure.

1 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

2 discriminated   

分别，辨别，区分( discriminate的过去式和过去分词 )； 歧视，有差别地对待

参考例句：

• His great size discriminated him from his followers. 他的宽广身材使他不同于他的部下。
• Should be a person that has second liver virus discriminated against? 一个患有乙肝病毒的人是不是就应该被人歧视？

3 unpaid   

adj.未付款的，无报酬的

参考例句：

• Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
• He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。

4 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

5 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

6 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

9 prohibition   

n.禁止；禁令，禁律

参考例句：

• The prohibition against drunken driving will save many lives.禁止酒后开车将会减少许多死亡事故。
• They voted in favour of the prohibition of smoking in public areas.他们投票赞成禁止在公共场所吸烟。

10 redundant   

adj.多余的，过剩的；(食物)丰富的；被解雇的

参考例句：

• There are too many redundant words in this book.这本书里多余的词太多。
• Nearly all the redundant worker have been absorbed into other departments.几乎所有冗员，都已调往其他部门任职。

11 flip   

vt.快速翻动；轻抛；轻拍；n.轻抛；adj.轻浮的

参考例句：

• I had a quick flip through the book and it looked very interesting.我很快翻阅了一下那本书，看来似乎很有趣。
• Let's flip a coin to see who pays the bill.咱们来抛硬币决定谁付钱。

12 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

13 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

14 undue   

adj.过分的；不适当的；未到期的

参考例句：

• Don't treat the matter with undue haste.不要过急地处理此事。
• It would be wise not to give undue importance to his criticisms.最好不要过分看重他的批评。

15 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

16 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

17 discriminating   

a.有辨别能力的

参考例句：

• Due caution should be exercised in discriminating between the two. 在区别这两者时应该相当谨慎。
• Many businesses are accused of discriminating against women. 许多企业被控有歧视妇女的做法。

18 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

19 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

20 repudiate   

v.拒绝，拒付，拒绝履行

参考例句：

• He will indignantly repudiate the suggestion.他会气愤地拒绝接受这一意见。
• He repudiate all debts incurred by his son.他拒绝偿还他儿子的一切债务。

21 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

22 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。