After eight employees working in a battery manufacturing process where
lead was a primary ingredient became pregnant the women were discovered to
have blood-lead levels in excess of those noted by the Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) for women of childbearing years. The company then
announced that such women would be excluded from jobs involving exposure or potential
exposure to lead at levels exceeding those recommended by OSHA. A group of
employees affected by the new company rule filed suit in United States District Court
challenging the policy as sex discrimination that violated Title VII of
the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as amended which prohibits sex-based classifications in terms
and conditions of employment, hiring and discharge and other employment
decisions. The District Court ruled for the employer It maintained a business necessity
required a policy to protect a fetus. The United States Court of Appeals
upheld the District Court, ruling that where there is a substantial health risk to a
fetus and it is transmitted only through women and there is no alternative
as effective in protecting a fetus, such a policy is allowed. Furthermore, it is up to
the plaintiffs to demonstrate that such conditions do not apply.