Civil rights law at work: Sex discrimination and the rise of maternity leave policies

By the time Congress passed the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, many employers had created maternity leave programs. Analysts argue that they di d so in response to the feminization of the workforce. This study charts th e spread of maternity leave policies between 1955 and 1985 in a sample of 2 79 organizations. Sex discrimination law played a key role in the rise of m aternity leave policies. Building on neoinstitutional theory, this article explores how the separation of powers shapes employer response to law. Deta ils of the law are often specified in administrative rulings-the weakest li nk in the law because they can be overturned by the courts and by Congress. Yet an administrative ruling requiring employers with disability leave pro grams to permit maternity leave, which employers successfully fought in the courts, was at least as effective as the identical congressional statute t hat replaced it. In the American context, the legal vulnerability of admini strative rulings can draw attention to them, thus making the weakest link i n the law surprisingly powerful.