The state of Utah may be the next state to enact a law requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodations for employees whose ability to perform their job functions is limited by pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions. Bill S.B. 59 is currently awaiting the governor’s signature. If passed, employers with 15 or more employees working within the state must provide workplace accommodations for an employee related to pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related conditions.
Accommodations must be provided unless these create an undue hardship in the operation of the business. As defined in the bill, an undue hardship is “an action that requires significant difficulty or expense when considered in relation to factors such as size of the entity, the entity’s financial resources, and the nature and structure of the entity’s operation.” Employers will not be allowed to terminate and deny employment opportunities to an employee if other reasonable accommodations can be made and if the denial is based on the need of the employer to make reasonable accommodations.
Employers are also not allowed to require an employee to provide a certification from the employee’s health care provider for more restroom, food, or water breaks. Nevertheless, employers do not have to allow their employee to have his or her child at the workplaces for purposes of accommodating pregnancy or related conditions.
CPC will continue to monitor proposed bill. If passed, employers will be required to post a notice of pregnancy accommodations rights in the workplace.