The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued Step2 Company, LLC, an Ohio toy manufacturer. According to the allegations, a pregnant worker at Step2 was disciplined under the company's attendance policy because of her pregnancy-related absences and approved medical leave. Step2 allegedly failed to accommodate her by excusing the employee's pregnancy-related absences, and instead counted them against her attendance.

The employee also allegedly requested to sit down briefly between assemblies while on the line, take more frequent breaks, and to avoid working on very strenuous assemblies. These requests were related to her pregnancy or a related medical condition, but Step2 denied these requests, interfered with her ability to obtain accommodations, and ultimately fired her.

Source: https://www.eeoc.gov/newsroom/eeoc-sues-step2-company-sex-pregnancy-and-disability-discrimination-and-retaliation

Commentary

The allegations above, if true, would constitute violations of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. These acts provide protections for pregnant workers, which include requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or other related medical conditions absent undue hardship.

The EEOC sued the employer described above allegedly for sticking to a general, or "neutral", attendance policy and refusing to allow an exemption to that policy for a pregnant worker as a reasonable accommodation.

The accommodations requested - seated periods, more breaks, reassignment from physically strenuous task, and an exception to an attendance policy for pregnancy-related absences - are the exact type of accommodations courts expect employers to grant to pregnant employees. 

Employers must train managers and supervisors. Many pregnancy-related accommodations should be implemented immediately by management.

Next, managers and supervisors should document accommodation requests and their implementation.

For other more complicated accommodations, make sure managers and supervisors know to immediately communicate such requests to those authorized in the organization to engage in the interactive process with the employee.

The final takeaway is when an organization fails to provide pregnancy-related accommodations or fails to engage in the interactive process, liability risk can arise.

To help reduce the risks, organizations should work with legal counsel to ensure all policies, practices, and personnel are ready for pregnancy-related accommodation requests.