also contains new protections for pregnant and lactating workers — and attorneys say business owners need to ensure they are on the right side of the law.
, partner at law firm Balch & Bingham LLP. “They need to modify their written policies to inform employees on how to request accommodations.”Previously, business owners had to ensure they did not discriminate against pregnant workers in job opportunities or policies, but now they must ensure those workers can get accommodations if they need them.
A guiding principal for business owners looking to accommodate pregnant workers is whether the accommodation takes away a core function of the job. If a job requires lifting 30-pound boxes, and the worker can't do it, that could be considered an accommodation that falls outside of being reasonable. There was already a provision under the Fair Labor Standards Act that required employers to provide break time for workers who needed to pump breast milk, but that provision only existed for so-called “exempt” workers, or those who were exempted from overtime . Now, all workers are covered.
“Although not explicitly required by the PUMP Act, it's a good time for employers to examine their spaces and their facilities to understand what is the space we can provide if someone asks for lactation accommodation and what we would be able to provide,” Gunzenhauser Popper. “It does not have to be a dedicated space that always exists. It could be converting some other space.”