Kentucky’s New Pregnancy Accommodation Law
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By: Theresa Nelson
Strauss Troy
Covington, Kentucky
Effective July 27, 2019, the Kentucky Pregnant Workers Act (the “Act”) requires all Kentucky employers with 15 or more employees (for 20 or more calendar weeks) to provide reasonable accommodations for an employee’s pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions. It is not novel that both federal and state law prohibit employers from discriminating against a pregnant employee based upon their pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions. However, now Kentucky employers must consider and comply with applicable requirements to make reasonable accommodations for their employee’s pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions.
The definition of “reasonable accommodations” under the Act expands the definition provided in the Kentucky Civil Rights Act to include accommodations specific to an employee’s particular limitations due to pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions including, but not be limited to:
The Act dictates when determining appropriate and reasonable accommodations:
The Act specifically provides a lactation accommodation requirement due to the need to express breast milk and requires employers to provide private space, other than a bathroom, for their nursing employees.
An employer’s failure to reasonably accommodate an employee’s pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions is an unlawful employment practice unless the employer can demonstrate undue hardship. Undue hardship means the requested accommodation would require significant difficulty or expense, and is determined by evaluating a number of factors including, but not limited to, cost, financial resources, size of the facility, number of overall employees, and impact on the employer. When specifically evaluating a reasonable accommodation for pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, undue hardship also considers the duration of the accommodation and whether similar accommodations are given to other employees for other reasons or by policy.
The Act requires Kentucky employers provide a written notice of the right to be free from discrimination in relation to pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, including the right to reasonable accommodations, to:
And, Kentucky employers must post a written notice of the same right to be free from discrimination in relation to pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, including the right to reasonable accommodations, at the employer’s place of business in an area accessible to employees.
To ensure compliance with the Act, Kentucky employers should review their established policies, notices to new and existing employees and posted notices prior to June 27, 2019.
Theresa Nelson’s practice focuses on representing and defending clients in complex labor & employment, commercial litigation, and general civil litigation. She represents clients in employment-related disputes including wage and hour, harassment, discrimination, disability accommodation (ADA), FMLA, wrongful or retaliatory discharge, breach of contract, restrictive covenants and intellectual property disputes. She is licensed in Kentucky and Ohio.