Relates to reasonable accommodation

14 Co-sponsors

• David Carlucci
• Joseph E. Robach
• Tony Avella
• Adriano Espaillat
• Patrick M. Gallivan
• Jesse Hamilton
• Jeffrey D. Klein
• Kathleen A. Marchione
• Jack M. Martins
• Terrence P. Murphy
• Marc Panepinto
• Kevin S. Parker
• Susan Serino
• David J. Valesky

BILL NUMBER:S8

Title of bill

An act to amend the executive law, in relation to reasonable accommodation

Purpose

End pregnancy discrimination in the workplace.

Summary of provisions

Sections one and two amend Exec. Law Sections 292 and 296 to clarify that employers must perform a reasonable accommodation analysis for employees with pregnancy-related conditions. A pregnancy-related condition is defined as a medical condition related to pregnancy or childbirth limited to conditions which, upon the provision of reasonable accommodation do not prevent reasonable performance of the occupation held. A reasonable accommodation would not have to be granted if it imposed an undue hardship on an employer. A pregnancy-related condition would be treated as a temporary disability for the purposes of current Division of Human Rights regulations regarding reasonable accommodations. Additionally, it would codify in law a requirement currently in regulation that an employee must cooperate in providing medical or other information to verify the existence of a disability or pregnancy-related condition.

Section three provides a severability clause.

Section four provides the act shall take effect 90 days after enactment.

Justification

Conditions related to childbirth and pregnancy can result in impairment requiring accommodation. Some pregnant workers require modest adjustments on the job for conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth in order to stay healthy and keep working. Employees may require a stool to sit on, extra restroom breaks, transfer away from hazardous duties, a temporary reprieve from heavy lifting, or a reasonable time for childbirth recovery. Federal Law requires employers to offer pregnant workers reasonable accommodation - the same types of accommodations that are required to be provided to disabled employees - and treat them the same for all employment-related purposes as other non-pregnant persons similar in their ability or inability to work. However, judicial interpretations of the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act have gutted the intent of the law by providing legal protection only to the extent a pregnant woman is able to work at full capacity, uninterrupted by the effects of pregnancy. The case Young v. United States Parcel Service, is currently before the Supreme Court to determine whether, and in what circumstances the Pregnancy Discrimination Act requires employers that provide accommodations to non-pregnant workers, to provide such to pregnant employees similar in their ability or inability to work.

In order to adequately protect the rights of pregnant workers, it is necessary to create a specific protection in New York State statute requiring employers to provide a reasonable accommodation for

pregnancy-related conditions, unless doing so would create an undue hardship. The purpose of this bill is to codify the long standing interpretation of the Division of Human Rights and ensure women are not deprived any of their existing protections under the disability and sex discrimination provisions of the law.

Legislative history

S.5880; 2013-2014

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This bill would take effect 90 days after enactment.