The United States filed a lawsuit under Title VII against the Board of Education of Consolidated High School District 230 of Palos Hills, Illinois in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The United States alleged that the school district engaged in sex discrimination against its pregnant teachers. Specifically, the United States contended that the school district's maternity leave and sick leave policies discriminated against pregnant teachers. The United States sought injunctive and remedial relief.

The United States challenged defendant's maternity leave policy, which prohibited pregnant teachers from taking paid sick leave in conjunction with unpaid maternity leave. It claimed this policy discriminated against pregnant teachers because teachers could take paid sick leave with other types of unpaid leave. The United States also alleged that the sick leave bank policy discriminated against pregnant teachers. The sick leave bank provided additional paid sick leave days for teachers who had exhausted their accumulated paid sick leave due to a "prolonged and extended catastrophic illness." However, a pregnant teacher was unable to receive these sick leave bank benefits since pregnancy was excluded from this leave bank provision.

On September 6, 1990, the district court (Judge Leinenweber) ruled that defendant's maternity leave policy did not violate Title VII but that the sick leave bank policy, by excluding pregnancy, discriminated against pregnant teachers. The court awarded monetary damages to two female teachers who had been denied the opportunity to use the sick leave bank while they were pregnant. The United States appealed the district court's ruling on defendant's maternity leave policy, while defendant cross-appealed the district court's ruling that the sick leave bank policy discriminated against pregnant teachers.

On January 7, 1993 United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (Judge Daniel A. Manion) upheld the district court's decision that (1) defendant's maternity leave policy was not discriminatory and (2) defendant's sick leave policy was discriminatory in violation of Title VII. The docket ends on January 29, 1993 with the entry of a certified copy of the circuit court's decision.

We have no further information on this case.

Dana Schwarz - 11/20/2007


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