EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY
NJLAD Amended to Increase
Protections for Pregnant Employees
On January 21, 2014, Governor Christie signed a bill amending the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination ("NJLAD") to expand protections for pregnant employees. In addition to including pregnancy as a protected characteristic under the NJLAD, the amendment also requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation when a pregnant employee requests an accommodation based on the advice of her physician, unless it would cause an undue hardship. Employers are further prohibited from penalizing an employee for requesting or using an accommodation.
Reasonable accommodations include:
- Bathroom breaks
- Breaks for increased water intake
- Periodic rest
- Assistance with manual labor
- Job restructuring or modified work schedules
- Temporary transfers to less strenuous or hazardous work
In determining whether a request for an accommodation would cause an undue hardship, the amendment provides that the following factors should be considered:
- The overall size of the employer's business with respect to the number of employees, number and type of facilities and size of budget;
- The type of the employer's operations, including the composition and structure of the employer's workforce;
- The nature and cost of the accommodation needed, taking into consideration availability of tax credits, tax deductions, and outside funding; and
- The extent to which the accommodation would involve waiver of an essential requirement of a job as opposed to tangential or non-business necessity requirement.
New Jersey employers should review their policies
with respect to reasonable accommodation
to determine whether any revisions are necessary
to meet these new requirements.
Nukk-Freeman & Cerra is available to review your employee handbook and policies to ensure compliance with the new amendment to the NJLAD. Please contact Katherin Nukk-Freeman or the Nukk-Freeman & Cerra attorney with whom you normally work.
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Any tax advice included in this written or electronic communication is not intended or written to be used, and it cannot be used by the taxpayer, for the purpose of avoiding any penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer or any governmental taxing authority or agency.
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