This was a good year for working moms and their families in Washington State. Over the next two years, Washington is ushering in several new laws that will be particularly beneficial to pregnant workers. Two new leave laws, the Paid Sick Leave law (operative Jan. 1, 2018) and the Paid Family and Medical Leave law (operative Jan. 1, 2020), will provide pregnant employees with paid time off for their own health care needs and to care for a new baby. Another new law, the Healthy Starts Act, gives pregnant employees the right to workplace accommodations for pregnancy-related wellbeing. Although working moms won’t be able to use the state’s new paid leave laws just yet, the Healthy Starts Act is of immediate benefit to working moms.
Healthy Starts Act
The Healthy Starts Act is intended to promote healthy pregnancies by giving expectant workers the right to reasonable accommodations in the workplace. The law, which went into effect last month, applies to employers with 15 or more employees. An employee who requests any of the following accommodations is not required to provide medical certification of the need for the accommodation:
- Providing frequent, longer, or flexible restroom breaks
- Modifying a no food or drink policy
- Providing seating or allowing the employee to sit more frequently
- Limiting lifting to 17 pounds
A pregnant employee may have rights to additional workplace accommodation(s), unless such accommodation(s) would place an undue hardship on the employer. An employer may also require verification of the need for any of the following accommodations:
- Job restructuring, including part-time or modified work schedules, job reassignment, changing equipment or modifying an employee’s work station
- Temporary transfer to a less strenuous position
- Scheduling flexibility for prenatal visits
- Any other reasonable pregnancy accommodation requested by the employee
Employers may not deny employment opportunities to an employee because of the need to provide a reasonable accommodation, require an employee to take leave if another accommodation can be provided, or take adverse action against an employee who requests, declines or uses an accommodation. The Health Starts Act is enforceable either by the Washington Attorney General or by private lawsuit. More information is available from the Department of Labor and Industries here.
Washington joins twenty-one other states and the District of Columbia to have passed laws requiring accommodations for pregnant workers.