SUMMARY
- The Senate is the final hurdle for the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
- The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act can lead to costly litigation
I. The Senate is the final hurdle for the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
Pregnant workers have not really been protected by federal law and legal precedents in the US yet. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act (1978) only deals with classic discrimination. First and foremost, it forbids discrimination of pregnant workers regarding hiring, pay and firing. The Supreme Court 12-1226 Young v. United Parcel Service, Inc. (03/25/2015) did not solve this problem at all. The court found that employers only have to accommodate pregnant workers if such accommodation has been given to any other non-pregnant workers of the same ability to work.
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (H.R. 2694) would require “reasonable workplace accommodations for workers whose ability to perform the functions of a job are limited by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition.” This legislation would dramatically improve the situation of pregnant workers to balance work and family live. The US House of Representatives has approved this legislation. The final hurdle is Senate.
If you have workers in the US, you need to have a conscious look at this law.
According to it, employers are supposed to care for reasonable accommodation to workers for pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions. This may be different however if such accommodation is “an undue hardship” for the employer.
II. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act can lead to costly litigation
We do advise our clients with workers in the US to already prepare for this law. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is a federal law which is why all sites/workers in the US are concerned.
Hence, employers could be involved in costly litigation for discriminating against pregnant workers. Especially in regard to the current political climate in the US, investors will very likely suffer image loss when companies have to fight against allegations of discriminating against pregnant workers in court publicly. In this context, you may also consider the new final rule revising the interpretation of independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.
For further information, contact us!
