Are your policies up to date?
The pregnancy discrimination and accommodation amendments to the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) went into effect on January 1, 2015, requiring many employers to update or change their policies with respect to expecting and new mothers in the workplace. If your policies have not been updated to incorporate these expanded protections, now is the time. Here’s what you need to know:
What’s the first thing I have to do? The IHRA amendments require employers to post in a conspicuous location, and include in any employee handbook that the employer maintains, a notice prepared by the Illinois Department of Human Rights summarizing the requirements of the new pregnancy laws and providing information regarding filing a charge with the Department. The notice is available on the Illinois Department of Human Rights website. So first and foremost, post the notice and update your employee handbook.
And Next? Train your supervisors, managers and even your employees on what pregnancy discrimination is and how to protect against discrimination claims.Here’s a quick summary of the highlights of new amendment:
Who is covered? All private, non-religious employers in Illinois, regardless of the number of employees, are covered by the pregnancy amendments to the IHRA. The amendments to the IHRA establish pregnancy as a legally-protected class and define the term “pregnancy” broadly to include: “pregnancy, childbirth, or medical or common conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth.”
What does it prohibit? The amendments prohibit adverse employment actions against employees because of their pregnancy, childbirth or pregnancy-related conditions (so that includes pre and post-delivery conditions). The amendments also impose upon employers an affirmative obligation to offer reasonable accommodations for pregnancy and childbirth-related conditions. The Act contains a list of example accommodations, a few of which are below, but it is important to note that the amendment specifically prevents an employer from forcing a protected employee to accept an accommodation that she did not request or to which she did not agree. Here’s a short list of reasonable accommodations mentioned in the amendment. This is not a complete list, but should give you a general idea.
- more frequent or longer bathroom, water & rest breaks
- a private non-bathroom space for breastfeeding and expressing milk
- assistance with manual labor / light duty / temporary transfer to less strenuous or hazardous positions
- job restructuring / part-time or modified work schedules
- time off to recover from childbirth and leave required by the employee’s pregnancy, childbirth, or related conditions
Any protections for Employers? Any employer can deny the requested accommodation if the employer demonstrates that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the “ordinary operation of the business of the employer”. Under the IHRA amendments, “undue hardship” is defined as “prohibitively expensive or disruptive.” The amendments also state that employers are not required to create additional employment positions that the employer otherwise would not have created, unless the employer does so or would have done so for other classes of employees who needed accommodations.
Interactive Process? Yes, the amendment requires that both the employee and employer engage in the interactive process (“timely, good faith, and meaningful exchange to determine effective reasonable accommodations”.)
Can Employers Request Medical Certification?Employers may request documentation from the employee’s health care provider to the same extent documentation is requested for conditions related to disability, so long as the employer’s request for documentation is job-related and consistent with business necessity. The amendment provides that the Employer may request documentation only for the requested accommodation along with:
- request a description of the reasonable accommodation(s) that are medically advisable;
- the date the reasonable accommodation(s) became medically advisable;
- the probable duration of the reasonable accommodation(s); and
- documentation to determine compliance with other laws.
The amendment makes it an affirmative obligation of the employee to provide such documentation but does not expand upon what rights the employer may have should the employee fail to comply.
For more information about the pregnancy discrimination and accommodation amendments to the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) and what you need to know to protect your business from discrimination claims, contact Susan L. Dawson at 847-253-8800.
Waltz, Palmer & Dawson, LLC is a full-service law firm with various areas of service to assist your business, including: Employment Law, Intellectual Property, Commercial Real Estate, Business Immigration, Litigation and general Business Law services. Individual services include Estate Planning, Wills and Trusts, Probate, Guardianship, Divorce and Family Law.
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