SF 2252 – Reasonable Accommodations for Pregnancy in the Workplace
FLOOR ACTION:
SF 2252 requires an employer to provide reasonable accommodations to an employee based on medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth if the employee requests such accommodations with the advice of their health care provider. The bill:
- Prohibits an employer from denying a reasonable accommodation in the terms, conditions or privileges of an employee to a job applicant or employee based on the employee’s or applicant’s pregnancy, childbirth or related medical condition if the employee or applicant requests a reasonable accommodation, unless the employer can demonstrate that providing the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the employer’s program, enterprise or business.
- Defines “reasonable accommodation” and “related medical condition.”
- Applies “adverse action” and “undue hardship” to the entire Iowa Civil Rights chapter. These definitions are from the Americans with Disability Act.
- Requires an employer to provide an employee a private, secure and sanitary space and break time to express breast milk for a nursing child.
- Makes it an unfair or discriminatory practice for an employer to retaliate against an employee who requests reasonable accommodation.
- Requires an employer to engage in a good-faith and interactive process with the employee to determine effective reasonable accommodations.
- Requires an employer to prove undue hardship.
- Does not require an employer to create additional jobs or provide additional work hours that the employer would not otherwise have created or provided unless the employer does so (or would do so) to accommodate another class of employees that requests such accommodation.
- Requires an employer to post written notice of these rights.
- Requires the Civil Rights Commission to develop courses of instruction and conduct ongoing public education efforts.
[3/2: 28-22 (party-line, except Kapucian and Zumbach voting “yes”)]