Presented by the Employment Law Practice Group

Legal Updates for Employment Law

February 17, 2014

Edited by: Ronda O'Donnell, Esquire, Chair, Employment Law Practice Group

Five Things NJ Employers Need to Know Now About the Pregnant Workers' Fairness Act

On January 21, 2014, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed into law the Pregnant Worker's Fairness Act (PWFA) which prohibits discrimination against pregnant women. The Act, which is effective immediately, affords more protections to employees than its federal counterpart, The Pregnancy Discrimination Act. Here are five things New Jersey employers and employers with operations in New Jersey need to know about the Act.

The Act, which is an amendment to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD), makes it unlawful for an employer to treat an employee in a manner less favorable than that of employees not affected by pregnancy.
The Act defines pregnancy as "pregnancy, childbirth, or medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth, including recovery from childbirth."
The Act requires employers to make reasonable accommodations available to the employee, when the employee, on the advice of her physician, requests the accommodation. This can include accommodations such as bathroom breaks, periodic rest, breaks for increased water intake, job restructuring, or modified work schedules.
An employer will not have to provide a certain accommodation if the employer can demonstrate that providing the accommodation would be an undue hardship on its business operations. Undue hardship will be determined by a) the overall size of the employer's business; b) the employer's type of operations, including composition and structure of workforce; c) the nature and cost of the accommodation needed, taking into consideration the availability of tax credits, tax deductions, and outside funding; and d) the extent to which the accommodation would involve waiver of an essential requirement of a job.
The employer cannot penalize an employee for requesting or using a pregnancy-related accommodation.

The take-away: employers with operations in New Jersey should update employee handbooks and policies to include reference to the PWFA provisions. Management employees should also be trained on the requirements and obligations of the PWFA for business operations in New Jersey.

Submitted by Perri J. Koll, Esquire, Roseland, NJ.

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