Are you treating your pregnant employees properly? Do you have to offer them an accommodation?
There’s been a flurry of action around treatment of pregnant employees under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, some of which has been confusing.
The PDA says you have to treat pregnant employees in the same manner you treat other employees who are temporarily unable to work. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, accommodations are required for employees who are temporarily unable to work. Now, according to new guidance from the federal government, the PDA requires accommodation for pregnant employees.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced its new position in updated enforcement guidance on pregnancy discrimination in July — the first issued in 30 years. At the same time, a similar question wound its way to the U.S. Supreme Court in a pending case involving a corporate policy at UPS. Just last month, UPS sent a memo to employees changing the policy at the heart of the Supreme Court case. The landscape around whether and how to accommodate pregnant workers is shifting rapidly.
On Tuesday, Nov. 11, at 2 p.m. EST @ThompsonHR will host a Twitter chat (#hrintelchat) on “Evolving Rights of Pregnant Employees in the Workplace.” @ThompsonHR will be joined by two employment law experts: Jon Hyman of Meyers Roman (@jonhyman) and Jeff Nowak of Franczek Radelet (@jeffreysnowak). They will weigh in on the evolving challenges of managing pregnant employees and accommodating them in the workplace.
Join our experts for an hour long chat on how to navigate this shifting terrain. Tweet your questions and comments to @ThompsonHR using the hashtag #hrintelchat.
Held every other month and hosted by a panel of outside experts, our TweetChats will explore the employment law and employee benefits compliance topics that interest you.
How to Participate
Participation in the chat is easy — just follow along using the #hrintelchat hashtag. The questions will be tweeted out and the expert panel will be given time to respond. Attendees can ask additional or follow up questions, or offer their own take on a particular topic by using the hashtag #hrintelchat. In responding to a specific question, attendees should note that they are answering that question (i.e., Q1) with the number in their tweet (i.e., A1) along with the #hrintelchat hashtag. The chat will run from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. EST.
For additional information about the speakers, check out the event description here.
Future Chats
This chat is the second in a regularly occurring series that will feature a rotating roster of hot human resources topics. Watch this space for future #hrintelchat topics and chat dates. Also, ideas for topics can be tweeted to @ThompsonHR.