Meat+Poultry - July 2022 - 70

LABOR
'Expecting' considerations
Women comprise over half the
American workforce, and that
percentage increases annually. How
to deal with a pregnant employee who
may have work limitations is an issue
that continues to vex employers and
is often a source of consternation. If
improperly handled these situations
can result in substantial liability.
In 1978 Congress passed the
Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA),
which established that pregnancyrelated
matters are encompassed
within the prohibition against sex
discrimination under Title VII of
the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In
essence, it requires employers to
provide the same accommodations
to pregnant employees as any other
employee with similar ability or
inability to work. In addition to
federal law, almost 50% of the states
and numerous cities have adopted
regulations requiring employers to
provide accommodations for pregnant
employees. Accommodations for
pregnant employees were identified as
a " National Substantive Area Priority "
under the 2017-2021 EEOC Strategic
Enforcement Plan (SEP).
The Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA) also imposes certain employer
obligations regarding pregnancy.
Generally, the ADA requires employers
to provide reasonable accommodations
to employees with a " disability "
that affects their ability to perform
their job. While pregnancy is not a
disability, numerous pregnancy-related
conditions qualify as disabilities
requiring employers to potentially
provide accommodation.
DELIVERY DILEMMA
The Supreme Court addressed
employers' responsibility to
accommodate pregnant employees in
the 2015 case of Young v. UPS, wherein
the court ruled in favor of a pregnant
UPS driver who challenged UPS' denial
of light-duty work assignments to
accommodate her pregnancy-related
lifting restrictions. The court concluded
that an employer is required to offer
a reasonable accommodation to a
pregnant employee to the same extent
that it offers an accommodation to any
similarly limited employee.
Notwithstanding, continued
employer failures to accommodate
pregnant employees, the requirements
under the relevant legal authorities
are clear. For current pregnancies, an
employer cannot fire, refuse to hire,
demote, or take other adverse action
motivated by pregnancy, childbirth,
or related medical condition. This is
true even if the employer believes it is
acting in the employee's best interest.
Similarly, an employer may not
discriminate based upon an employee's
intention or potential to become
pregnant. Nor may an employer force
an employee to take leave from work
because of pregnancy.
Not all pregnant employees
develop limitations affecting their
ability to perform their job. However,
when limitations do arise, employers
should carefully consider: 1) What
limitation(s) is the employee
experiencing? 2) How do these
limitation(s) affect job performance? 3)
What specific task(s) pose a problem?
and 4) What accommodation(s)
could reduce or eliminate the job
performance issues?
Among the types of
accommodations employers should
consider for pregnancy-related
limitations are reassigning marginal/
nonessential job functions that pose a
problem, modifying a work schedule,
modifying workplace policies such
as allowing more frequent breaks,
temporarily reassigning the employee
to light duty, and granting leave.
Considering the continuing focus
on employer obligations to pregnant
employees, defending a claim of failure
to accommodate a pregnant employee
may prove increasingly difficult for
employers. Such claims are clearly a
priority for EEOC enforcement and
can become quite high profile. Every
employer should diligently seek to
avoid them.
RICHARD D. ALANIZ | meatpoult r y@sos land.com
While pregnancy is not a disability, numerous
pregnancy-related conditions qualify as
disabilities requiring employers to potentially
provide accommodation.
70 MEAT+POULTRY | 07.22 | www.meatpoultry.com
zinkevych - stock.adobe.com
http://meatpuoltry@sosland.com http://www.meatpoultry.com
Meat+Poultry - July 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meat+Poultry - July 2022
