Overview. On July 6, 2017, Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy signed into law House Bill 6668 titled “An Act Concerning Pregnant Women in the Workplace” (Act) amending the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act (CFEPA). The Act modifies existing protections and provides a number of new pregnant employee protections. In addition, the Act provides definitions of the terms “pregnancy”, “reasonable accommodation” and “undue hardship.”
Effective Date. Effective October 1, 2017.
Details. Currently CFEPA provides protections for pregnant employees and specifies it is unlawful for an employer to do the following:
• Terminate a woman’s employment because of her pregnancy;
• Refuse to grant a pregnant employee a reasonable leave of absence for disability as a result of her pregnancy;
• Deny an employee disabled as a result of pregnancy any compensation to which she is entitled as a result of the accumulation of disability or leave benefits accrued pursuant to plans maintained by the employer;
• Fail or refuse to reinstate the employee to her original job or to an equivalent position with equivalent pay and accumulated seniority, retirement, fringe benefits and other service credits upon her signifying her intent to return, unless, in the case of a private employer, the employer’s circumstances have so changed as to make it impossible or unreasonable to do so.
Amendments to the CFEPA enhance these existing protections by declaring it unlawful for an employer to:
• Limit, segregate or classify the pregnant employee in a way that would deprive her of employment opportunities due to her pregnancy;
• Discriminate against an employee or job applicant on the basis of her pregnancy in the terms or conditions of her employment;
• Fail or refuse to make a reasonable accommodation for an employee or job applicant due to her pregnancy, unless the employer can demonstrate that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship;
• Deny employment opportunities to an employee or job applicant if the denial is due to the request for a reasonable accommodation due to her pregnancy;
• Force an employee or job applicant affected by pregnancy to accept a reasonable accommodation if she (i) does not have known limitation related to her pregnancy, or (ii) does not require a reasonable accommodation to perform the essential duties related to her employment;
• Require an employee to take a leave of absence if a reasonable accommodation can be provided in lieu of the leave; and
• Retaliate against an employee in the terms, conditions or privileges of her employment based upon the employee’s request for a reasonable accommodation.
The Act also provides definitions for “pregnancy,” “reasonable accommodation,” and “undue hardship.” Specifically:
• “Pregnancy” means pregnancy, childbirth or a related condition, including, but not limited to, lactation;
• “Reasonable Accommodation” means, but is not limited to, being permitted to sit while working, more frequent or longer breaks, periodic rest, assistance with manual labor, job restructuring, light duty assignment, modified work schedules, temporary transfers to less strenuous or hazardous work, time off to recover from childbirth or break time and appropriate facilities for expressing breast milk; and
• “Undue Hardship” means an action requiring significant difficulty or expense when considered in light of factors such as (A) the nature and cost of the accommodation; (B) the overall financial resources of the employer; (C) the overall size of the business of the employer with respect to the number of employees, and the number, type and location of its facilities; and (D) the effect on expenses and resources or the impact otherwise of the accommodation upon the operation of the employer.
Notice Requirement. The Act directs employers to provide employees with written notice “of the right to be free from discrimination in relation to pregnancy, childbirth and related conditions, including the right to a reasonable accommodation to the known limitations related to pregnancy . . . .” Employers may comply with this mandate by displaying a poster in a conspicuous place, accessible to employees, at the workplace.
Call to Action. Employers should ensure that any policies are amended to reflect the rights of employees under these amendments. Employers should also ensure that Managers and Supervisors are aware of these expanded protections.
For a copy of the Act, please click here.