No doubt you have not spent much time perusing the 1,653 pages making up federal H.R.2617, the Federal Appropriations bill pushed out just prior to Christmas. But, you may have seen a notice somewhere that, tacked on to that bill were two employment law provisions that could be significant to your daily business affairs: the “Pregnant Workers Fairness Act” and the “Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act.” Here is what we think you need to know about them.

What You Need to Do

1. The Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act takes effect immediately. So, you should review your internal policies, and particularly employee handbooks, to ensure that you have language in place that recognizes that all employees now have the right to take a break, as needed, to express breast milk. If you haven’t had occasion to deal with this issue in the past, you should give consideration to where you would be able to set up a sanitary, private, non-bathroom location at your facility for this purpose.
2. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act takes effect in six months. By the 4^th of July, you should: review your internal policies, and particularly employee handbooks, to consider how your company traditionally treated pregnancy discrimination, the right to ask for accommodations related to pregnancy, and the rights of pregnant employees to maternity leave. This language may appear in connection with your existing language about discrimination/sex...

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