Good afternoon,
UAH is committed to creating a welcoming, accessible, and inclusive environment for pregnant and parenting applicants, students, and student-employees. Please familiarize yourself with the following laws. To ensure that these individuals are aware of their rights and protections, faculty, supervisors, managers, and department chairs are expected report when they are informed of a pregnancy. Below is a summary of these laws. You should closely review the attached document for additional details and important information.
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA): NEW! The PWFA requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to a worker's known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation will cause the employer an undue hardship. Reasonable accommodations should be made available to help apply for a job; to perform a job; to enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment; and to temporarily suspend the performance of an essential function of a position, if certain conditions are met. Providing Urgent Maternal
Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP): NEW! The PUMP Act broadens workplace protections for employees to express breast milk at work. Nursing employees have the right to reasonable break time and a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view to express breast milk while at work. Employees have the right to take reasonable break time to express breast milk for their nursing child for one year after the child’s birth. An employer may not deny a covered employee a needed break to pump.
Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA): The FMLA provides covered employees with unpaid leave for certain family and medical reasons. Under the FMLA, covered employees can receive up to 12 weeks of unpaid job and benefit-protected leave. To qualify for FMLA, employees must have 12 months of service with UAH and have worked 1,250 hours in the last 12-month period.
Americans with Disability Act (ADA): The ADA protects an employee from discrimination based on disability; and requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to a person with a disability if the reasonable accommodation would not cause an undue hardship for the employer. Pregnant employees are entitled to the same amount and type of leave that is provided to employees with other types of short-term disabilities. Employers must hold open a job for a pregnancy-related absence for the same length of time jobs are held open for employees on sick or temporary disability leave.
Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA): The PDA makes it illegal to fire or otherwise discriminate against workers on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Requires covered employers to treat a worker affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions the same as other workers similar in their ability or inability to work
Thank you,
Holly Holladay, SHRM-CP
Human Resources: Director of Benefits & Employee Services
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