Overview. On May 4, 2017, Vermont amended its Fair Employment Practices Act (VFEP) to prohibit an employer from failing or refusing to reasonably accommodate an employee’s pregnancy related condition. Vermont joins the eighteen states from New Jersey to California, that have passed similar pregnancy accommodation laws.
Effective Date. January 1, 2018.
Overview. Vermont has amended the VFEP to require reasonable accommodations for pregnant employees. The amendments establish that it is an unlawful employment practice for an employer to fail to provide a reasonable accommodation for an employee’s pregnancy-related condition, unless it would impose an undue hardship on the employer. The amendments do not provide a definition for or examples of reasonable accommodation.
According to the VFEP, “pregnancy-related condition” means a limitation of an employee’s ability to perform the functions of a job caused by pregnancy, childbirth, or a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth. The amendments further provide that an employee with a pregnancy-related condition has the same rights and will be subject to the same standards with respect to the provision of reasonable accommodations as qualified individuals with disabilities under other sections of the VFEP, regardless of whether the pregnant employee is an “individual with a disability” as defined in the VFEP. The new law, however, must not be construed to indicate or deem that a pregnancy-related condition necessarily constitutes a disability.
The Vermont Labor Commissioner will publish a notice of the new provisions that employers must post in a conspicuous place.
Call to Action. Employers should review, and if necessary, revise reasonable accommodation policies and procedures. Human Resources and Supervisory employees involved in the reasonable accommodation process should be trained on the amended law’s requirements. Finally, employers should ensure required information is posted.
As always, please reach out to your Relationship Manager or Service Team, for more information about the topics covered in this Alert.