Oct22

CR-CL Podcast – Episode 17 – Pregnancy Discrimination and Heightened Scrutiny for DOMA

Consumers and Corporations, Courts, Labor and Employment, LGBTQ Rights, Podcast, Poverty and Economic Justice, Sex Equality 0 comments

Matt is back in the hosting chair this week, talking with CR-CL’s Online Content Editors Noah Kaplan and Nitzan Weizmann. Nitzan joins the show to highlight the problem of pregnancy discrimination. Noah and Matt also take a look at a recent Second Circuit opinion striking down part of the Defense of Marriage Act. The show begins with our weekly news round-up, This Week in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.

Nitzan joins the discussion about a recent New York Times op-ed, pointing about that decisions about taking family leave are decisions that only the privileged get to make. When pregnant women are treated like commodities by their employers, a pregnancy makes finding and keeping a job a difficult task. What is the state of the law and what needs to be done to protect pregnant workers without overburdening employers with added costs?

Matt and Noah stick around to analyze the recent Second Circuit decision in Windsor v. United States, another opinion striking down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act. How does the Second Circuit’s analysis differ from previous opinions by the First Circuit and a California District Court? Does this decision make Supreme Court review more likely? What will be the fate of DOMA?

Some links related to the topics discussed on this week’s show:

New York Times – Why Women Hide Their Pregnancies

The Atlantic – Why Women Still Can’t Have It All

The Daily Beast – The Case for Paid Family Leave

Slate – Mitt Romney’s Totally Inadequate Answer On Women In The Workforce

EEOC – Pregnancy Discrimination

H.R.5647 – Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

Professor Ari Ezra Waldman – Second Circuit Holds DOMA Unconstitutional

HuffPost – Why the Recent DOMA Decision Matters Even More Than You Think

LA Times Editorial – Is Defense of Marriage Act Ruling Too Favorable?

Wall Street Journal – Second Circuit’s DOMA Decision: A Road Map for SCOTUS?

Please email questions, comments, corrections, or suggestions to CRCLonline@gmail.com. Thanks for downloading, and enjoy the show!