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In this regard, this blog is Part VIII of our series, “Key Workplace Policies and Employee Handbooks.” In Part VII, we reviewed what New York law says about notifying employees about sick leave, working hours, paid time off, and vacation. Regarding this issue, we mentioned that pursuant to N.Y. Lab. Law § 195(5), employers in New York are required to notify employees, either in writing or by publicly posting their policies on paid time off (PTO), working hours, holidays, personal leave, vacation, and sick leave. Although the requirements of the law depend on the size of an employer, as codified under N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 20-913, there are even more requirements imposed by New York City’s Earned Safe and Sick Leave Law.

To move this discussion forward, this blog is titled “Including Pregnancy & Lactation Accommodations in Handbooks” and is a review of what New York law says when it comes to requiring employers to include a policy providing reasonable pregnancy and lactation accommodations to employees who may need such accommodations.

Including Pregnancy & Lactation Accommodations in Employee Handbooks

For starters, both the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) and New York State Human Rights Law( NYSHRL) have various provisions concerning pregnancy-related protections for pregnant job applicants or employees. Under N.Y. Exec. Law § 296(3), a New York employer is required to ensure that its employee handbooks contain a policy assuring job applicants or employees that they would be provided with reasonable accommodation for a pregnancy-related condition.

However, as discussed in a number of past blogs, while they have an obligation to reasonably accommodate pregnancy, an employer does not have to bear an undue hardship when it provides such an accommodation. It is crucial to note that, among other things, pregnancy leave is considered an accommodation under this law. However, pursuant to N.Y. Exec. Law § 296, unless a pregnancy hinders an employee from performing her job’s duties, the pregnant employee may not be forced to take an absence leave.

This goes without saying that pregnancy does not qualify as a disability in itself. Being pregnant is not a disability per se. However, from a legal perspective, it is considered a disability when you have certain impairments attributable to your pregnancy, which means that if your pregnancy impairs performance in your work or poses a threat to your life, then it’s considered a disability and, thus, you’d be entitled to a disability claim.

As mentioned in the blog above, courts in New York have acknowledged four out of six conditions that would make a pregnancy be considered a disability. These include carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), gestational diabetes, pregnancy-related sciatica, and preeclampsia (a pregnancy-related complication characterized by high blood pressure and signs of damage to other organs). Notably, New York’s Paid Family Leave Benefits Law allows parental leave to be provided to new parents.

Additionally, as codified under N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 8-107, subd. 22, employers in New York City must include a policy on how to accommodate lactation needs of nursing mothers. Most importantly, the policy is required to (1) specify that requesting a room for lactating is a right of applicants and employees, (2) indicate a process through which requests for lactation accommodations can be made by employees, (3) state that an employer would take a reasonable duration of time that is no more than five business days to respond to a request of lactation accommodation, (4) explain how a lactation room should be organized or used in case of two nursing mothers, (5) provide contact information through which an employer could follow-up and address or handle conflicting needs, (6) state that should the employee have to bear an undue hardship following the request for accommodation, the employer is obligated to engage the employee in cooperative dialogue, and (7) state that pursuant to N.Y. Lab. Law § 206-c, nursing employees would be provided with reasonable break time for the purposes of expressing breast milk.

In Part IX of this series and our blog titled “Wage & Hour and Benefits Requirements in Employee Handbooks,” we will examine the requirements of New York law when it comes to including provisions or statements concerning wage and hour and benefits in employee handbooks.

As usual, stay tuned for more legal guidance, training, and education. In the interim, if there are any questions or comments, please let us know at the Contact Us page!

Always Rising Above the Bar,

Isaac T.,

Legal Writer, Author, and Publisher.