The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued new guidance on how the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) apply to pregnant workers.
The new guidance addresses an employer’s obligation to provide pregnant workers equal access to benefits such as leave, light duty and health benefits and when certain actions may constitute discrimination under the PDA.
You may access the Enforcement Guidance on Pregnancy Discrimination and Related Issues at (http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/pregnancy_guidance.cfm), along with a Q&A document (http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/pregnancy_qa.cfm) and a Fact Sheet (http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/publications/pregnancy_factsheet.cfm).
Among other issues, the guidance discusses:
A significant portion of the EEOC’s guidance focuses on light duty work for pregnant employees. The EEOC’s position is that employers must treat a pregnant employee who is temporarily unable to perform her job in the same manner as it treats other non-pregnant employees with similar limitations in their ability to work. The EEOC also says that if an employer provides light duty assignments to any of its employees who temporarily are unable to perform their full duties, then similar accommodations should be made for pregnant employees who cannot perform their full duties. According to the EEOC’s guidance, an employer can limit the number of light duty positions that it has available to its workforce, but it cannot prohibit pregnant employees from obtaining those positions based on the source of their limitations (i.e. workers’ compensation claims). The EEOC’s guidance also suggests that an unpaid leave of absence is not a reasonable accommodation for a pregnant employee who can perform many of her essential job functions, or where other light duty work is available.