Employers should be aware that several states, including New York and New Jersey, have now enacted laws specifically enhancing and protecting the rights of pregnant employees.
In New Jersey, Governor Christie, signed into law an amendment to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination ("LAD") intended to provide express protection for pregnancy and child birth under the statute. The amendment took effect on January 21, 2014.
The amendment expressly prohibits pregnancy discrimination, but also includes medical conditions related to pregnancy, child birth and recovery from child birth as encompassed within the protective umbrella of the statute.
Importantly, employers are required to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant employees, so long as they do not create an undue hardship for the employer. An accommodation that would enable the employee to perform the job while pregnant, must be provided. For example, assistance with heavy lifting, relief from strenuous positions, break periods, and the like.
With this trend in the law, employers should be ever-mindful to ensure that a pregnant employee is treated fairly and provided any reasonable accommodation that would enable her to continue performing her job while pregnant.
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.
