Excluding Women from the Toxic Workplace: Genuine Fetal Protection or Impermissible Discrimination?

CATHERINE PETERS

ABSTRACT

With the growth of scientific knowledge, employers have become increasingly aware that their operations may threaten the health of their workers' future offspring. Some employers have responded to this threat by denying employment to women. The author argues that this response is essentially discriminatory and allows employers to escape the costs of making their workplaces safer for all their workers, male and female. A number of alternative responses are suggested which address the health concerns of workers and their offspring, while minimizing the impairment of women's employment opportunities.

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Citation: (1991) 49(2) U.T. Fac. L. Rev. 68.
Copyright © 1991. University of Toronto Faculty of Law Review.
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