CLIENT ALERT: NYC Pregnancy Accommodation Law Notice Due To All Employees By May 30, 2014
The New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”) was recently amended to expand pregnant employees’ protections against discrimination. The NYCHRL already prohibited discrimination based on pregnancy and related conditions. The amendment further requires that employers provide a reasonable accommodation to an employee based on the needs of her pregnancy, childbirth or a related medical condition.
New York City employers with four or more employees must provide written notice of the new law to all employees on or before May 30, 2014. To access a copy of the form of notice, please click here. This notice must also be provided to all newly hired employees when their employment begins. The notice provides a summary of protections against illegal firing or other discriminatory actions against pregnant women under the law and contains examples of reasonable accommodations that a woman can request from her employer during the course of her pregnancy. The notice may be distributed by electronic mail.
Employers should consider posting the notice in a workplace area accessible to employees or on their intranet page, as well as adding or revising any policy in their employee handbooks regarding the accommodation of pregnancy, childbirth and related conditions.
For more information regarding the law, including a review of your existing anti-discrimination policies, or on any other employment matter, please contact the Olshan attorney with whom you regularly work or either of the attorneys listed below.