NYC Commission on Human Rights Releases Pregnancy and Employment Rights Poster

Author: Melissa Burdorf, XpertHR Legal Editor

November 8, 2013

As previously reported, effective January 30, 2014, New York City employers with four or more employees may not terminate or refuse to provide a reasonable accommodation to a pregnant employee or an employee recovering from childbirth or a related medical condition if the employee requests an accommodation and the accommodation will allow the employee to perform the essential functions of her job.

As part of its obligations under the new law, the New York City Human Rights Commission has released a written notice that employers must provide to:

• All new hires at the start of employment; and
• All current employees on or before January 30, 2014.

The commission's notice provides examples of reasonable accommodations (e.g., bathroom breaks, leave for a period of disability arising from childbirth, breaks to facilitate increased water intake, assistance with manual labor, changes to work environment and periodic rest for those who stand for long periods of time) and advises employees of whom to contact in the event the employee believes she has been discriminated against.

The notice is available in English and the following other languages:

• Chinese;
• Haitian Creole;
• Italian;
• Korean;
• Russian; and
• Spanish.

The variety of languages reflects the great diversity of NYC.

Prior to January 30, NYC employers should have a procedure in place for providing the notice to new and existing employees, which should include obtaining the employee's written acknowledgement of receipt.

While the commission has also been tasked with creating training programs to inform both employers, employees, applicants and the public of the rights and responsibilities under this law, no training programs have been announced yet. Once they are, employers should consider attending such training because violations of this law can lead to harsh penalties.