The EEOC helps protect workers from pregnancy discrimination by enforcing the laws that protect the civil rights of all US workers. The EEOC, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission was founded at the same time as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, in order to ensure that the new laws were followed. According to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, it is unlawful to discriminate against an employee or a potential employee based on that person's race, color, sex, religion, or national origin. Pregnancy discrimination happens when an employee is denied rights such as the right to return to work after childbirth, the right to take a maternity leave to care for a newborn child, and perhaps even the right to be considered for hire when pregnant. In addition, denying a female employee a promotion or employment opportunity because of expectations of future pregnancies is illegal. Pregnancy discrimination is protected under the sex discrimination prohibition of the Civil Rights Act because it is considered to be a form of discrimination based on gender.