U.S. Supreme Court Rules ATT Not Required to Raise Retirement Benefits

Staff Writer, May 16, 2009

In a recent case, the Supreme Court ruled that AT&T does not have to increase the retirement benefits of its female employees who took maternity leave during the 1970s. According to the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1979, women are not allowed to be docked pay or in any way treated unfairly for choosing to take maternity leave.

Four women, who were employed by Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Company and were later transferred to AT&T, each took at least one pregnancy leave during 1968 and 1972. They believed that when it came to figuring retirement benefits, AT&T should have treated their leave just like a disability leave.

At the time when these women were pregnant, the Pacific Telephone Company treated pregnancy-related leaves just like any other personal day s requested off. Women were only given paychecks and retirement credit for the first 30 days. Now, AT&T treats maternity leaves just like any other paid disability leave- meaning that women do not lose their retirement benefits simply because they are on a pregnancy leave.

Unfortunately for the four women who brought the case before the Supreme Court, it ruled that AT&T did not have to pay out the additional retirement benefits, because when these women were employed with the company, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act had not yet been implemented.