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Are You Ready for the Pregnant Worker Fairness Act?

If you are not, you better get bushy-tailed on this Act pretty quickly; it goes into effect on June 27. The Act applies to all public and private sector employers that employ at least 15 employees and requires such employers to make reasonable accommodations to known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions (“PCRMC”). 

There are a few practical steps that you should consider taking now:

  • Be sure that your manager is aware they must now respond to a request for any type of accommodation due to PCRMC as they would an ADA-type request for accommodation due to a disability. This means that you allow 12 weeks of “pregnancy leave” is not sufficient. More leave or a different type of accommodation may be required.
  • Review your Handbook to ensure that you include PCRMC as a “protected class” that you will accommodate.
  • Review the leave or pregnancy leave section of your Handbook to ensure that it indicates that you will reasonably accommodate limitations due to PCRMC.  
  • Ensure that your Handbook/leave request form includes a statement that you will not retaliate against employees who request accommodations due to PCRMC.
  • Create a PWFA leave request form that states that the leave/accommodation is only allowed so long as necessary due to the employee’s PCRMC. 

Note that your obligations under the PWFA, which went into effect last year, are different than those under the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, which requires you to allow lactation breaks for up to two years following delivery. Salaried employees should be paid for lactation breaks. Hourly employees should be paid for breaks of less than 20 minutes each or if the employee performs any work while on break. 

Since the employer must properly track and pay for all compensable time, you need to have a mechanism to track this time. Requiring the employee to record the time and duration of each such break daily should suffice. 

Are You Ready for the Pregnant Worker Fairness Act?

If you are not, you better get bushy-tailed on this Act pretty quickly; it goes into effect on June 27. The Act applies to all public and private sector employers that employ at least 15 employees and requires such employers to make reasonable accommodations to known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions (“PCRMC”). 

There are a few practical steps that you should consider taking now:

  • Be sure that your manager is aware they must now respond to a request for any type of accommodation due to PCRMC as they would an ADA-type request for accommodation due to a disability. This means that you allow 12 weeks of “pregnancy leave” is not sufficient. More leave or a different type of accommodation may be required.
  • Review your Handbook to ensure that you include PCRMC as a “protected class” that you will accommodate.
  • Review the leave or pregnancy leave section of your Handbook to ensure that it indicates that you will reasonably accommodate limitations due to PCRMC.  
  • Ensure that your Handbook/leave request form includes a statement that you will not retaliate against employees who request accommodations due to PCRMC.
  • Create a PWFA leave request form that states that the leave/accommodation is only allowed so long as necessary due to the employee’s PCRMC. 

Note that your obligations under the PWFA, which went into effect last year, are different than those under the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, which requires you to allow lactation breaks for up to two years following delivery. Salaried employees should be paid for lactation breaks. Hourly employees should be paid for breaks of less than 20 minutes each or if the employee performs any work while on break. 

Since the employer must properly track and pay for all compensable time, you need to have a mechanism to track this time. Requiring the employee to record the time and duration of each such break daily should suffice. 

Are You Ready for the Pregnant Worker Fairness Act?

If you are not, you better get bushy-tailed on this Act pretty quickly; it goes into effect on June 27. The Act applies to all public and private sector employers that employ at least 15 employees and requires such employers to make reasonable accommodations to known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions (“PCRMC”). 

There are a few practical steps that you should consider taking now:

  • Be sure that your manager is aware they must now respond to a request for any type of accommodation due to PCRMC as they would an ADA-type request for accommodation due to a disability. This means that you allow 12 weeks of “pregnancy leave” is not sufficient. More leave or a different type of accommodation may be required.
  • Review your Handbook to ensure that you include PCRMC as a “protected class” that you will accommodate.
  • Review the leave or pregnancy leave section of your Handbook to ensure that it indicates that you will reasonably accommodate limitations due to PCRMC.  
  • Ensure that your Handbook/leave request form includes a statement that you will not retaliate against employees who request accommodations due to PCRMC.
  • Create a PWFA leave request form that states that the leave/accommodation is only allowed so long as necessary due to the employee’s PCRMC. 

Note that your obligations under the PWFA, which went into effect last year, are different than those under the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, which requires you to allow lactation breaks for up to two years following delivery. Salaried employees should be paid for lactation breaks. Hourly employees should be paid for breaks of less than 20 minutes each or if the employee performs any work while on break. 

Since the employer must properly track and pay for all compensable time, you need to have a mechanism to track this time. Requiring the employee to record the time and duration of each such break daily should suffice. 

Are You Ready for the Pregnant Worker Fairness Act?

If you are not, you better get bushy-tailed on this Act pretty quickly; it goes into effect on June 27. The Act applies to all public and private sector employers that employ at least 15 employees and requires such employers to make reasonable accommodations to known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions (“PCRMC”). 

There are a few practical steps that you should consider taking now:

  • Be sure that your manager is aware they must now respond to a request for any type of accommodation due to PCRMC as they would an ADA-type request for accommodation due to a disability. This means that you allow 12 weeks of “pregnancy leave” is not sufficient. More leave or a different type of accommodation may be required.
  • Review your Handbook to ensure that you include PCRMC as a “protected class” that you will accommodate.
  • Review the leave or pregnancy leave section of your Handbook to ensure that it indicates that you will reasonably accommodate limitations due to PCRMC.  
  • Ensure that your Handbook/leave request form includes a statement that you will not retaliate against employees who request accommodations due to PCRMC.
  • Create a PWFA leave request form that states that the leave/accommodation is only allowed so long as necessary due to the employee’s PCRMC. 

Note that your obligations under the PWFA, which went into effect last year, are different than those under the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, which requires you to allow lactation breaks for up to two years following delivery. Salaried employees should be paid for lactation breaks. Hourly employees should be paid for breaks of less than 20 minutes each or if the employee performs any work while on break. 

Since the employer must properly track and pay for all compensable time, you need to have a mechanism to track this time. Requiring the employee to record the time and duration of each such break daily should suffice. 

Are You Ready for the Pregnant Worker Fairness Act?

If you are not, you better get bushy-tailed on this Act pretty quickly; it goes into effect on June 27. The Act applies to all public and private sector employers that employ at least 15 employees and requires such employers to make reasonable accommodations to known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions (“PCRMC”). 

There are a few practical steps that you should consider taking now:

  • Be sure that your manager is aware they must now respond to a request for any type of accommodation due to PCRMC as they would an ADA-type request for accommodation due to a disability. This means that you allow 12 weeks of “pregnancy leave” is not sufficient. More leave or a different type of accommodation may be required.
  • Review your Handbook to ensure that you include PCRMC as a “protected class” that you will accommodate.
  • Review the leave or pregnancy leave section of your Handbook to ensure that it indicates that you will reasonably accommodate limitations due to PCRMC.  
  • Ensure that your Handbook/leave request form includes a statement that you will not retaliate against employees who request accommodations due to PCRMC.
  • Create a PWFA leave request form that states that the leave/accommodation is only allowed so long as necessary due to the employee’s PCRMC. 

Note that your obligations under the PWFA, which went into effect last year, are different than those under the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, which requires you to allow lactation breaks for up to two years following delivery. Salaried employees should be paid for lactation breaks. Hourly employees should be paid for breaks of less than 20 minutes each or if the employee performs any work while on break. 

Since the employer must properly track and pay for all compensable time, you need to have a mechanism to track this time. Requiring the employee to record the time and duration of each such break daily should suffice. 

Are You Ready for the Pregnant Worker Fairness Act?

If you are not, you better get bushy-tailed on this Act pretty quickly; it goes into effect on June 27. The Act applies to all public and private sector employers that employ at least 15 employees and requires such employers to make reasonable accommodations to known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions (“PCRMC”). 

There are a few practical steps that you should consider taking now:

  • Be sure that your manager is aware they must now respond to a request for any type of accommodation due to PCRMC as they would an ADA-type request for accommodation due to a disability. This means that you allow 12 weeks of “pregnancy leave” is not sufficient. More leave or a different type of accommodation may be required.
  • Review your Handbook to ensure that you include PCRMC as a “protected class” that you will accommodate.
  • Review the leave or pregnancy leave section of your Handbook to ensure that it indicates that you will reasonably accommodate limitations due to PCRMC.  
  • Ensure that your Handbook/leave request form includes a statement that you will not retaliate against employees who request accommodations due to PCRMC.
  • Create a PWFA leave request form that states that the leave/accommodation is only allowed so long as necessary due to the employee’s PCRMC. 

Note that your obligations under the PWFA, which went into effect last year, are different than those under the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, which requires you to allow lactation breaks for up to two years following delivery. Salaried employees should be paid for lactation breaks. Hourly employees should be paid for breaks of less than 20 minutes each or if the employee performs any work while on break. 

Since the employer must properly track and pay for all compensable time, you need to have a mechanism to track this time. Requiring the employee to record the time and duration of each such break daily should suffice.