Civil Rights News: Employers Fire Pregnant Workers; Proposed Budget Cuts Are Nickel and Diming the Poor; FDA Spies on Employees’ Personal E-mail

Pregnant and Pushed Out of a Job
Dina Bakst
New York Times

Many women, especially single mothers, face undue hardship in the workplace upon getting pregnant. Thousands of low-income families suffer as a result of women being fired over pregnancies. Pregnancy is not considered a disability under the American With Disabilities Act; thus, employers aren’t legally mandated to provide pregnant women with reasonable accommodations. In New York, State Senator Liz Krueger and Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther have introduced bills in the State Legislation that would require employers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnant women. Such a law performs a public health necessity and ensures the economic security of the expecting mother and her employer. Hopefully, other states will take note and follow New York’s lead.

A Harder Squeeze on the Poor
Editorial
New York Times

More than a million children will be put at risk if a House Republican proposal gains momentum. The House recently passed a bill that would deny cash refunds for the child tax credit from taxpayers that use an “individual taxpayer identification number” rather than a Social Security Number. Some taxpayers use this alternate identification number because they’re undocumented citizens. However, in many instances, their children are native-born American citizens. Implementing this proposal would rob low-income families of a vital economic resource.

FDA Staffers Sue Agency Over Surveillance of Personal E-mail
Ellen Nakashima and Lisa Rein
Washington Post

Technological advances have undoubtedly blurred the lines as to what constitutes a “reasonable expectation of privacy.” Six former employees at the Food and Drug Administration filed a suit arguing that the FDA had no legal right to access their Gmail accounts. The six former employees- all scientists and doctors- wrote emails to Congressmen and journalists detailing their discovery of possible dangerous side effects of products deemed safe by the FDA. The FDA warns its employees that any information transmitted or stored on work computers might be intercepted for a lawful government purpose. However, the precise definition of a lawful government purpose is the point at issue.

Compiled by Wally McElwain, a Spring 2012 intern