The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) expands protections for qualified individuals in the workforce by requiring employers with 15 or more employees to make reasonable accommodations for known limitations of employees and applicants related to pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions.
Last year, the EEOC released final regulations to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act where they retained an expansive reading of pregnancy and childbirth to include pregnancy, past pregnancy, potential pregnancy, lactations (including breastfeeding and pumping), use of contraception, menstruation, infertility and infertility treatments, endometriosis, miscarriage, stillbirth, and decisions around abortion among other conditions -AND- related medical conditions to include new physical and mental conditions originating during pregnancy or preexisting conditions exacerbated by pregnancy or childbirth.
Final Rule at a Glance
With regard to PWFA accommodations, the final rule directs employers to:
- (A) consider eliminating one or more essential functions of a job on a temporary basis during an employee’s pregnancy and for an additional amount of time after its conclusion unless it poses a hardship on the employer
- (B) deem reasonable, four requests for accommodations absent unusual circumstances *
- (C) restrict employers’ requests for documentation to support reasonable accommodations or to ask for certain information
Eliminating of Essential Functions Temporarily
A qualified employee who cannot perform an essential function of a job due to pregnancy, childbirth or related condition may have certain duties removed temporarily, where temporary is defined as lasting for a limited time, not permanent, and may extend beyond ‘the near future” of generally forty weeks from the start of the temporary suspension of the essential function.
Accommodations for Pregnancy, Childbirth and Related Conditions
The EEOC provides a number of possible reasonable accommodations related to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions including:
- Frequent breaks
- Sitting/standing
- Schedule changes, part-time work, and paid and unpaid leave
- Telework or remote work
- Reserved parking
- Light duty
- Making existing facilities accessible or modifying work environment
- Temporarily suspending one or more essential functions
- Acquiring or modifying equipment, uniforms or devices
- Adjusting or modifying examinations or policies
* The four specific “predictable assessment” accommodations deemed de facto as they typically require only modest and minor alterations allow employees to:
- carry or keep water and drink as needed, in or nearby the employee’s work area
- take additional restroom breaks as needed
- sit or stand as needed
- take breaks as needed where they can eat and drink
Requests for Documentation Restrictions
The final rule includes a blanket prohibition on employers’ seeking supporting documentation in five instances: (1) when the limitation and need for a reasonable accommodation is obvious; (2) when the employer already has sufficient information to support a known limitation related to pregnancy; (3) when the request is for one of the four “predictable assessment” accommodations; (4) when the request is for a lactation accommodation; and (5) when employees without known limitations under the PWFA receive the requested modification under the employer’s policy or practice without submitting supporting documentation. In such circumstances, an employee’s self-confirmation is the only thing an employer may seek.
Employer Responsibilities under PWFA
Under PWFA, an employer must provide reasonable accommodations. Employers are prohibited form requiring an employee to accept an accommodation or take leave when other accommodations are available. They may not deny an employee equal employment opportunities or take adverse action against a worker for seeking or using a reasonable accommodation.
Contact an Employment Law Attorney for Help
When you have been subject to discrimination, harassment or retaliation in your workplace related to pregnancy and childbirth or other related medical conditions, contact the employment discrimination lawyers of Alan C Olson & Associates for immediate assistance at 262-785-9606.
