WHO IS PROTECTED - WHATS WRONG WITH EXCLUSIONARY POLICIES

Many employers have excluded women whose infertility is not medically documented from allegedly hazardous work claiming they feared if the w omen became pregnant, their fetuses would be harmed. In United Auto Wo rkers v. Johnson Controls, the Supreme Court held in 1991 that so-call ed ''fetal protection policies'' are unlawful sex discrimination. Afte r examining four cases challenging exclusionary policies in Britain an d the United States, this article unmasks and argues against the assum ptions underlying such policies. By returning to well-established sex discrimination doctrine, moving away from a male norm, and reaffirming women's right to both work and have children, the Supreme Court's dec ision in UAW v. Johnson Controls is an important victory. The decision should help to break down job segregation, prompt the EEOC to act, an d clear the way for addressing questions of health and safety rather t han equality and difference.