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DRESS CODES-Can an employer force a woman to wear pants to work?
YES. A female employee of the Sullivan County Transit Authority wanted to wear a skirt to work. Sullivan County Transit Authority's dress code required all employees to wear pants to work. The female employee sued her employer for the right to wear a skirt. She argued that her 14th Amendment right to due process and equal protection and her 1st Amendment right to free speech gave her the right to wear a skirt.
New York's highest federal court, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, and said that the constitution does not give her the right to wear a skirt. The court said that a woman wearing a dress or skirt on the job does not automatically signal any particularized message about her culture or beliefs. The court added that although plaintiff may have a liberty interest in her personal appearance, requiring her to wear pants as part of her uniform did not violate her right to due process or equal protection. Zalewska v. County of Sullivan, 2nd. Cir. 2003.
INFERTILITY TREATMENTS-Can your employer deny you health insurance coverage for infertility treatments?
YES. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act is a federal law protecting employees from discrimination in the workplace based on pregnancy. On January 15, 2003, the highest federal court in this state, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals decided that the Pregnancy Discrimination Act does not require an employer which provides its employees with health insurance to cover an employee's infertility treatments. The court in the case of Saks v Franklin Covey Co. found that the "exclusion of surgical impregnation procedures disadvantages infertile male and femal employees equally.". Until the United States Supreme Court overules the 2nd Circuit in this case or Congress amends the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, this will be the law in New York (The Pregnancy Discrimination Act is a federal law, New York State may have a law which grants an employee rights different from Pregnancy Discrimination Act.).