On January 21, 2014, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed into law S2995/A4486 amending the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD) to prohibit discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, including recovery from childbirth at work. The amendment is effective immediately and offers greater protections for non-disabled employees affected by pregnancy or childbirth and for employers imposes increased accommodation requirements.
The new amendment expressly adds the term "pregnancy" to the list of protected characteristics under the NJLAD. It requires employers to make reasonable workplace accommodations for female employees who the employer "knows or should know" are "affected by pregnancy."
Specifically, it covers pregnant women who have medical conditions relating to pregnancy or childbirth. An employer must make reasonable accommodations available to these women affected if such an accommodation is requested based on the advice of the employee's physician. Reasonable accommodations include: "bathroom breaks, breaks for increased water intake, periodic rest, assistance with manual labor, job restructuring or modified work schedules and temporary transfers to less strenuous or hazardous work." The law would require New Jersey employers to provide accommodations such as these and also potential job modifications for a pregnant employee, absent undue hardship. Factors to be considered in determining whether an accommodation would impose an undue hardship include: (a) the size of the employer's business; (b) the nature of the accommodation; and (c) the extent to which the accommodation would involve the waiver of an essential job requirement.
The amendment presents a change for New Jersey employers as it relates to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA). Specifically, the ADA and PDA only require that employers treat pregnant employees the same as other employees with respect to accommodations and generally speaking do not require job modifications for employees experiencing normal pregnancies.
As a result, New Jersey employers should carefully review their reasonable accommodation policies to determine whether revisions are necessary to comply with the new amendment.
There is express language stating, however, that the amendment is not meant to increase an employee's rights to paid or unpaid leave. So employers do not need to amend their paid or unpaid leave policies. New Jersey employers should absolutely train their human resource staff on these new requirements and any other supervisor or management staff so that they are implementing the most accurate rules.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
