Employment LawScene Alert: EEOC Issues Updated Enforcement Guidance on Pregnancy Discrimination

On July 14, 2014, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (“EEOC”) issued updated enforcement guidance regarding the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (“PDA”) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) as they apply to pregnant workers. The EEOC’s guidance discusses a number of issues related to pregnancy discrimination and other pregnancy related issues and provides insight into the agency’s interpretation of those issues and employers’ obligations under the PDA and ADA relative to pregnant employees. The EEOC also issued a question and answer sheet about the EEOC’s enforcement guidance and pregnancy related issues and a fact sheet for small businesses.

Among a number of other issues, the EEOC’s guidance discusses:

•The PDA’s coverage as it relates to current pregnancy, past pregnancy, and a woman’s potential to become pregnant or intended pregnancy.
•Discrimination based on lactation and breastfeeding and other medical conditions related to pregnancy or child birth.
•When employers may be required to provide light duty for pregnant employees.
•The prohibition against forcing an employee to take leave because she is pregnant and other issues related to parental leave.
•When employers may have to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with pregnancy-related impairments.
•Other legal requirements affecting pregnant workers, such as the Family and Medical Leave Act and Section 4207 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (requiring employers to provide “reasonable break time” for breastfeeding employees to express breast milk).
•The EEOC’s proffered best practices for employers in handling pregnancy-related matters in the workplace.

The EEOC’s updated guidance provides a clear indication of the EEOC’s position and interpretation relative to the PDA and ADA as they relate to pregnancy discrimination and other pregnancy related issues in the workplace. While this guidance may provide some insight into the agency’s position and likely enforcement efforts, employers should remember that it is merely guidance and does not have the force and effect of law.

One of the more controversial elements of the EEOC’s new guidance arises from the EEOC’s position that employers’ failure to treat pregnant employees the same as non-pregnant employees similar in their ability or inability to work is a violation of the PDA. This becomes problematic for employers who have traditionally reserved light duty positions for workers with restrictions resulting from an on-the-job injury while not providing light duty to employees who have similar temporary restrictions. The EEOC takes the position that the PDA requires employers who offer light duty work to employees who have restrictions resulting from injury on the job to offer that same light duty work to a pregnant employee with the same restrictions.

In light of this new guidance, employers should reevaluate their practices and policies related to pregnancy and pregnancy-related issues, especially with regard to requests for accommodation, and more carefully consider each and every employment action and decision involving pregnancy in the workplace.