On April 9, 2019, Governor Matt Bevin signed the Kentucky Pregnant Workers Act requiring employers with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions. Employers should review and update all accommodation procedures. The Act became effective immediately.
Under the Act, the definition of “reasonable accommodations” is expanded to include:
- more frequent or longer breaks;
- time off to recover from childbirth;
- acquisition or modification of equipment;
- appropriate seating;
- temporary transfer to a less strenuous or less hazardous position;
- job restructuring;
- light duty;
- modified work schedule; and
- private space that is not a bathroom for expressing breast milk.
Employers will be liable if they fail to make reasonable accommodations for an employee who requests an accommodation for pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition. The following shall be required as to reasonable accommodations:
- An employee shall not be required to take leave from work if another reasonable accommodation can be provided;
- The employer and employee shall engage in a timely, good faith, and interactive process to determine effective reasonable accommodations; and
- If the employer has a policy to provide, would be required to provide, is currently providing, or has provided a similar accommodation to other classes of employees, then a rebuttable presumption is created that the accommodation does not impose an under hardship on the employer.
Employers must provide a written notice of the right to be free from discrimination in relation to pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, including the right to reasonable accommodations, to:
- new employees at the commencement of employment, and
- existing employees not later than 30 days after the effective date of this Act.
Furthermore, employers must post the notice of the right to be free from discrimination in relation to pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, including the right to reasonable accommodations, at the employer’s place of business in an area accessible to employees. CPC is monitoring the release of the new notice. Make sure to visit our website for new updates on this new legislation.
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