Baker v. City of Detroit

This case well illustrates how a substantive issue of law, the propriety of a mandatory maternity leave policy, can easily be obscured by a disregard of procedural rules which, curiously enough, are designed to enhance, not impede, the smooth functioning of our judicial system.

On January 23, 1975, plaintiff filed a class action breach of contract suit protesting the policy of her employer, defendant City of Detroit, which imposes a period of forced maternity leave without pay or disability benefits upon pregnant employees, irrespective of an individual female’s ability to work during part of…