New Rules Requiring Employers to Provide Reasonable Accommodations to Pregnant Employees

If you are thinking that you do not need to provide a reasonable accommodation to your pregnant employees, think again.  The laws are changing and you need to get up to speed.  Even though a normal pregnancy was never a disability within the meaning of the ADA,  many states and municipalities have recently enacted laws requiring employers to provide pregnant employees with accommodations.  In addition, the EEOC has recently issued a new guidance that appears to now require employers to reasonably accommodate an employee’s pregnancy.  Moreover, the US Supreme Court has recently weighed in on this issue in a case involving the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.  In Young v, United Parcel Service, Inc. the US Supreme Court basically held that the Pregnancy Discrimination Act could require an employer to provide accommodations to pregnant employees similar to accommodations they would provide to other disabled employees.  Thus, in this case the Supreme Court held that if a company policy creates a “significant burden” for pregnant employees, it could violate the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.

Benefits of the program:

This conference will help you understand your obligations under both federal as well as state law to provide accommodations for your pregnant employees under these new rules.  It will also provide guidance on the best way to revise your policies to ensure compliance with the new rules and law. 

Important topics covered in this conference:

• Review of the current EEOC Guidance on providing reasonable accommodations to pregnant employees
• Summary of recent state and local laws that now require employers to accommodate pregnant employees
• Overview of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act its requirements
• Understanding what is required to treat pregnant workers the “same” as other employees who have temporary disabilities;
• In-depth review of Young v. United Parcel Service and the implications of this decision
• Tips for revisions to your policies and practices to ensure you are in compliance with federal, state and local laws
• Necessary updates to your handbook required by these new laws and EEOC guidance

Who Should Attend: 

• Human Resource Professionals
• Benefit Professionals 
• Managers 
• Supervisors 
• Training
• In-house counsel 
• Financial Officers
• CEOs