Appeals Court Rules Union Pacific Railroad's Policy To Not Provide Coverage for Contraceptives Not Discriminatory
Daily Women's Health Policy Report
Mar 19, 2007
A three-judge panel of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis on Thursday ruled 2-1 that Union Pacific Railroad's policy of not covering contraceptives does not discriminate against women, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports (Funk, AP/Houston Chronicle, 3/15). Planned Parenthood Federation of America and two female Union Pacific employees filed a lawsuit that seeks to require the company to provide coverage for FDA-approved prescription contraceptives for female employees and the female family members of male employees covered by the company's health plan. U.S. District Judge Laurie Smith Camp in July 2005 ruled that Union Pacific -- which employs about 49,000 workers nationwide, including 1,300 women -- illegally discriminated against female employees by not providing contraceptive coverage in its health plans. Although Smith Camp did not order the company to begin covering contraceptives, she said Union Pacific's policy violated the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employers with 15 or more employees from discrimination based on gender or pregnancy. Smith Camp ruled that the health plan policy was discriminatory because it covered many preventive health medications..." Full Kaiser report on this decision.