In today’s ridiculous airline news, Spanish airline Iberia Airlines apparently required all potential female employees to take pregnancy tests, although they stopped the practice after receiving major backlash.
The New York Times reports that the airline claimed the test was a safety measure, while officials called it sexist. The test was a part of a series of tests potential employees must pass before being hired, which included a medical examination.
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After being fined for discrimination, the airline said this week that it would end the requirement. The company was fined 25,000 euros, or $28,000, by officials in the Balearic Islands and responded with a statement saying they would end the practice.
“Given the controversy, arising from the current protocol in place to protect pregnant women, we will no longer include a pregnancy test in the medical examination for new hires,” said Maria Teresa Garcia Menรฉndez, the company’s health and safety officer.
“There is no reason to justify it,” the Uniรณn General de Trabajadores, one of Spain’s two main labor unions, said of the practice in a statement.
Photo Credit: Twitter / @argia
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