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despite the involvement of a new mother.203 The Fourth Circuit noted that the number of women receiving six months of maternity leave was decreasing over the years, and that comparing the women and men’s leave was not possible because the men were incapacitated and the women were not.204 The Fourth Circuit determined that any disparate impact regarding the leave policy was not of the kind that would invalidate the policy, because it did not show that women received less favorable treatment than men.205 The court then noted that the unpaid leave of absence policy concerned the excessiveness of the leave and disparate impact could not be shown by information that was unaffected by the directive.206 The Fourth Circuit reversed the judgment of the district court.207 PART IV: SURVEY OF STATE AND FEDERAL LAWS Women have certainly made strides since the enactment of the Nineteenth Amendment, but opportunities for further progress remain. Allen and the other similar cases mentioned demonstrate how perceptions of women, pregnancy, and the workplace from the days of General Electric and Geduldig persist in some form. A.
Breastfeeding Statutes
Twenty-four states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico have addressed breastfeeding and the workplace.208 Though these statutes vary in 203
Id. at 931.
204
Id. at 931-32.
205
Id. at 932.
206
Id.
207
Id.
208
Breastfeeding Laws, NAT’L CONFERENCE OF STATE LEGISLATURES, http://www.ncls.org/issues-research/health/breastfeeding-state-laws.aspx (last visited July 28, 2010). The states that have addressed breastfeeding and the workplace are as follows: Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming. Id.