Low-wage, blue-collar workers who lift heavy objects, stand all day or work near hazardous chemicals will benefit most from the recently enacted Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), employment lawyers said.
The PWFA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to workers so they can keep working while they are expecting. In general, white-collar workers traditionally have had greater flexibility than blue-collar workers when it comes to sitting, working from home or taking breaks.
"If you were the senior vice president or even the secretary in the front office, they probably let you rest or work from home or do whatever you need," said Scott Warrick, a Columbus, Ohio-based employment lawyer and author of Solve Employee Problems Before They Start: Resolving Conflict in the Real World (SHRM, 2019). "But if you're on the factory floor, traditionally you haven't been getting these kind of rights."
The law, which took effect on June 27, is administered and enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Companies with 15 or more employees "must make reasonable accommodations to the known limitations related to pregnancy, child birth or related medical conditions" unless accommodations impose undue hardship on the operation of the business. Those accommodations could mean anything from a seat to a weight limit on lifting to a private place to nurse or pump milk.
[SHRM members-only sample policy: Reasonable Accommodations for Pregnant Workers]
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