You’re Right to Accommodation throughout Pregnancy

 

 

Do you have the right to get your pregnancy accommodated on the job?  What measures, if any, does your employer need to take to assist you to do your work through your pregnancy?  Are you currently able to take off time from work on account of your pregnancy?   Based upon your circumstance, your employer might need to accommodate you if your pregnancy impacts your ability to perform your work.

 

Pregnancy Discrimination Act

 In a nutshell, employers need to extend the very same rights and benefits of pregnant workers as they do to other similarly situated workers.

Based on how your employer treats non-pregnant workers with temporary disabilities, then you might qualify for lodging for your own pregnancy.  Though the PDA does especially require companies to accommodate pregnant workers, it will require companies to treat pregnant employees exactly the same as non-pregnant workers that are temporarily disabled for different factors.  By way of instance, if your employer provides light-duty work to all workers who demand light-duty work for some other reasons, you're eligible for the exact same treatment.

 

The law is not as clear in regards to an employer that offer light-duty work to a, but not all, workers that are temporarily disabled for different factors.   In Young v. UPS, a pregnant worker uttered UPS after she had been refused light-duty work.  UPS supplied light-duty work to workers, such as those who have been injured at work.  However, it did supply light duty to additional workers, including pregnant workers and employees injured off the job.

The Supreme Court held that employers aren't needed to accommodate pregnant employees whenever they adapt a subset of non-pregnant workers.  However, employers have to have the ability to demonstrate a valid, nondiscriminatory reason for the different treatment.   (To learn more, visit Supreme Court Clarifies Employs Obligation to Accommodate Pregnant Workers)

 

 Under the ADA, workers who suffer from pregnancy-related disabilities, such as preeclampsia or diabetes, are eligible for lodging from their own employers.  A disability is a physical or psychological impairment that substantially limits a significant life activity, such as standing, walking, lifting, sleeping, or breathing.  It must be said that pregnancy itself is not regarded as a disability under the ADA.  Because of this, pregnant workers without disabilities aren't eligible for reasonable accommodation under the ADA.  (They might nevertheless be eligible for accommodation under the PDA, as mentioned above, or under state legislation, as mentioned below.)

 

Generally, affordable accommodation means modifications or alterations to the employer’s program, responsibilities or workspace to help her perform the vital functions of this job.   An employer isn't required to take steps that could create an undue burden: modifications that are too expensive or hard to create when thinking about the employee's dimension and resources.

 

Reasonable Accommodation

A pregnant worker might only require a few hours and there to attend doctor appointments.  This kind of intermittent leave can be available to qualified employees under the FMLA (see below for additional information).  In different conditions, the pregnant worker might require a different lodging by her employer so she can continue to function while pregnant.  By way of instance, a register clerk might require a stool since she's a pregnancy-related disability which affects her ability to endure for extended intervals. 

Interactive Procedure
A worker having a disabling, pregnancy-related state must notify her employer of this requirement for lodging.  The company then must take part in an interactive process with the worker to talk about what lodging she desires and the way the employer can provide it.  The employer is allowed to request certification in the employer’s healthcare provider supporting the need for lodging.  (See our post on FMLA Certifications for additional information.)

Leave Interaction

A worker using a pregnancy-related disability under the ADA can also be eligible for FMLA leave.  If both the ADA and the FMLA apply to the worker, the employee might qualify for complete 12-weeks of FMLA leave and extra time as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA.  If that's the circumstance, the initial 12 months of this employee leave will be considered FMLA leave (thus decreasing the employees accessible FMLA leave time), whereas the rest would be contemplated ADA disability leave.

  (See our post on taking FMLA to leave to learn more on eligibility.)

The FMLA also provides a pregnant worker who could utilize her 12-week entitlement to take some time off as-needed for medical care related to her pregnancy.  Therefore, an employer should make it possible for a pregnant employee to take the time to attend routine prenatal appointments with her physician.

 

State Laws

Many nations have their very own pregnancy handicap or household and medical leave legislation that may extend higher protections to pregnant workers.  Some state laws provide additional rights, like the right to light-duty or even more time away from work, but some pay smaller companies than national laws.

 

As is true for the national laws mentioned above, the depart rights and other protections available under state laws can interact or overlap with national laws.  In case of yore pregnant and want time off of work or some lodging is a fantastic idea to speak with pregnancy discrimination lawyer to figure out the entire extent of your rights under state, federal and local authority’s enforcement.