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CITY OF TOPEKA
1977 MAR 28 AM 7:04
BILL MCCORMICK, MAYOR

March 18, 1977

(handwritten) Denise Williams has bill in Senate. Is a bill in the House as well (end handwritten)

Senator Robert Dole 
4213 Dirksen 
Senate Office 
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Senator Dole:

The Mayor's Commission on the Status of Women of Topeka, Kansas, in its objective of studying the situation of women and helping women develop their own full potentiality, has much concern about and interest in the Supreme Court's decision in the General Electric Company vs. Gilbert case, in which the Supreme Court ruled that it is not illegal sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for private employers to deny women with pregnancy-related disabilities the disability payments given to other workers for other reasons.

Aside from the fact that this appears to be blatantly discriminatory to women employees in its effect, in that men may be eligible by such disability coverage for hair transplants and injuries incurred in fights or attempted suicides, while women are not eligible for pregnancy-related benefits, the Supreme Court's ruling appears to have the effect of undermining the intent and impact of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The women of this country make up over 1/3 of this country's labor force. Rather than remaining stable, the number of women entering the labor force is growing rapidly, as an increasing number of women work to supplant their husband's incomes, and women who had families must provide a source of income as family wage earner.

We urge you therefore to seriously consider the implementation and support of federal legislation which would guarantee pregnancy- related disability benefits to pregnant workers employed privately or publicly.

Sincerely,
Vada Benson
Vada Benson, Chairperson
Mayor's Commission on the Status of Women of Topeka, Kansas

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Civil Rights/Discrimination/ Sex
April 1, 1977
Vada Benson
Chairperson,
Mayor's Commission on the Status of Women of Topeka, Kansas 
Office of the Mayor 
Topeka, Kansas

Dear Ms. Benson:
This is in response to your recent letter concerning the recent Supreme Court decision in the case of General Electric v. Gilbert.
I can understand your concern about the effect the ruling in this case may have on previous rulings on cases brought under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Remedial legislation has been introduced in both the House and the Senate which would amend title VII of the Act to include a prohibition of sex discrimination on the basis of pregnancy.
The House legislation is currently before the House Committee on Education and Labor, and hearings are scheduled for next week. The Senate version is before the Subcommittee on Labor of the Human Resources Committee and hearings are tentatively scheduled for the end of this month.
Be assured that I will keep the views of the Commission in mind should this proposal come before me for a vote in the Senate.
Again, thanks for writing.
Sincerely yours,
BOB DOLE 
United States Senator
BD: dm