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Virginia's Human Rights Act: Reasonable Accommodations For Pregnancy Poster
A direct link to the poster in English can be found Here: OUTREACH_INFO-SHEET_PREGNANCY-DISCN-PROVISIONS_2020-07-17_FINAL.pdf (virginia.gov)
Virginia Code Section 2.2-3909 requires employers to offer reasonable accommodations for pregnancy. From a substantive standpoint, most employers are already complying with these obligations as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), which is part of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The new statutes, however, have certain posting notice requirements, including placing accommodations policies in the employee handbook. Additionally, both statutes prohibit unpaid leave as an accommodation if there is another reasonable accommodation available, which is not consistent with federal law.
The following highlights the main features and affirmative requirements of both statutes:
Statute Requiring Reasonable Accommodations for Pregnancy (Va. Code § 2.2-3909)
Main Features
The statute requires employers with five (5) or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions (including lactation). Like the ADA, the statute does not require employers to provide accommodations if it would impose an undue hardship. However, an employer must engage in a “timely, good faith” interactive process with an employee requesting an accommodation to determine the reasonableness of the employee’s request or to discuss alternative reasonable accommodation options.
Examples of reasonable accommodations include:
- More frequent or longer bathroom breaks;
- Breaks to express breast milk;
- Access to a private location/room to express breast milk (a bathroom does not satisfy this requirement);
- Acquisition or modification of equipment;
- Modification of employee seating;
- Temporary transfer to a less strenuous or hazardous position;
- Assistance with manual labor;
- Job restructuring;
- Modified work schedule;
- Light duty assignments; and
- Leave to recover from childbirth.
The statute expressly precludes employers from offering leave as an accommodation if another reasonable accommodation can be provided.
See Also: