Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000e through 2000e-17 (Title VII), is the mainstay of the reticulation of laws which Congress enacted to end discrimination in the workplace. Concerned that Title VIIs reach was too narrowly phrased, Congress later amended the statute to make manifest that discrimination "because of sex" or "on the basis of sex" included discrimination "because of or on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions." Pub.L. 95-555, § 1, 92 Stat. 2076 (Oct. 31, 1978), codified at 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(k) (1982). Invoking these amendments, plaintiff-appellee Wilma Cumpiano Sanchez (Cumpiano), who claimed to have been fired because of her pregnancy, sued her former employer, defendant-appellant Banco Santander Puerto Rico (the Bank), in federal district court. Following a bench trial, the district judge ruled in Cumpianos favor. Cumpiano v. Banco Santander, No. 87-0873, slip op. (D.P.R. Oct. 31, 1989) (hereinafter "D. Ct.Op."). The Bank appeals.
