An employer can lawfully require pregnant employees with lifting and other restrictions to go on leave and deny temporary light duty work available to workers injured on the job. On August 16, 2022, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld upheld Wal-Mart Stores East, L.P.'s (Walmart) "Temporary Alternate Duty" Policy (TAD Policy) that offers light duty only to those workers injured on the job. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Wal-Mart Stores East, L.P., (2022 WL 3365083).

In September 2018, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a class action lawsuit against Walmart, claiming that the denial of light duty to pregnant women violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. Under the TAD Policy, Walmart offered light duty to workers injured on the job who wanted to keep working and earning their full wages while complying with relevant medical restrictions. Walmart claimed the TAD Policy was designed to comply with Wisconsin's worker's compensation laws and reduce overall costs while improving employee morale. Walmart did not offer light duty, under the TAD Policy or otherwise, to pregnant workers or workers who were injured off the job.

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act amended Title VII to provide "women affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions shall be treated the same for all employment-related purposes ... as other persons not so affected but similar in their ability or inability to work."...

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