Federal Laws Covering Pregnancy and Pregnancy-Related Conditions

Multiple federal laws apply to workers affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Title VII protects workers from discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, and requires employers to treat those workers the same as other workers similar in their ability or inability to work.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) protects workers from discrimination based on disability—actual, a record of, or perceived. The ADA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to a person with a disability if the accommodation does not cause an undue hardship to the employer. Although pregnancy is not a disability under the ADA, some pregnancy-related medical conditions may qualify as disabilities. Oftentimes, claims arise under the ADA when the employer perceives the pregnancy as a disability and makes adverse employment decisions about the worker based on the pregnancy.

The Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) provides for twelve workweeks of unpaid, job-protected leave in a 12-month period for certain family and medical reasons. The leave can occur intermittently or all at once. The FMLA only applies to employers with 50 or more workers, and the worker must have at least 1,250 hours of service with the employer during the last 12 months.

The two most recent laws, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”) and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers (“PUMP Act”), provide even more protections for workers affected by pregnancy, childbirth or a related medical condition.

The PWFA provides broad reasonable accommodations for such workers if the accommodations do not pose an undue hardship to the employer. Reasonable accommodations may include “the ability to sit or drink water; receive closer parking; have flexible hours; receive appropriately sized uniforms and safety apparel; receive additional break time to use the bathroom, eat, and rest; take leave or time off to recover from childbirth; and be excused from strenuous activities or activities that involve exposure to compounds not safe for pregnancy.” Like the ADA, the employer and employee should engage in a discussion about appropriate accommodations.

The PUMP Act provides broad protections for workers to express breast milk while at work. The PUMP Act requires employers to provide workers with a “reasonable break time and place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion to express breast milk while at work.”

All these laws prohibit retaliation against workers who exercise their rights under the respective laws.

To protect against risk, employers should reach out to an experienced employment law attorney when making employment decisions about workers affected by pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions.