“On the eighth day of HR’s favorite season, my lawyers said to me… eight maids a-milking (and eight essential rules for supporting nursing employees).” ...more
The song may give us six geese a-laying, but in the workplace, nothing lays more legal traps than mishandling pregnancy-related rights. Between the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA),...more
I’d call this “reasonable accommodation for dummies,” but y’all aren’t dumb. The feds are back in business, and I can confirm it because I had a live email exchange yesterday with an investigator from the Equal Employment...more
Five cautions for employers. An employer’s motion for summary judgment in a lactation accommodation case was denied this week, meaning that if the case doesn’t settle, it will go to trial. And be aware that everything in...more
August is the most popular birth month in the U.S., meaning many employees will return from parental leave this fall and winter with new postpartum needs. Two key federal laws – the PUMP Act and the Pregnant Workers Fairness...more
On August 1, 2025, Illinois enacted amendments to its Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act (“Act”), which will take effect on January 1, 2026. Under the Act, Illinois employers must provide reasonable break time to...more
Puerto Rico has enacted a groundbreaking Lactation/Breastfeeding Code that consolidates in one statute the rights of breastfeeding employees and the responsibilities of employers across the Island. Signed into law on...more
Hindsight is 20-20. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which took effect in June 2023, requires reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth, and “related medical conditions.” The statute gave authority to the U.S....more
Accommodate, accommodate, accommodate! I started practicing law two years before Congress enacted the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990), and four years before it took effect (1992 for larger employers, 1994 for smaller...more
For many years, employers have been operating within the confines of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), the Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”), and the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act (“WFEA”) when a pregnant employee...more
With the new year upon us, employers should review their employee handbooks and ensure they are compliant with more recent updates to both Oregon and federal law....more
The entertainment industry, often credited for sparking the cultural “#MeToo” movement, is yet again faced with allegations of sexual harassment, this time from “It Ends With Us” star Blake Lively. On December 31, 2024,...more
As we prepare for 2025, it’s essential to update your employee handbook to reflect the latest legal requirements, workplace trends, and best practices. Now is an opportune time to review and revise your policies to ensure...more
Beginning on January 1, 2025, all New York employers will be required to provide eligible employees with 20 hours of paid prenatal leave (“Paid Prenatal Leave”) during any 52-week period for health care services during or...more
Question: Do employees have to be employed for 12 months or work 1,250 hours to qualify for the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), or do they qualify as soon as they begin employment?...more
All New York employers are now required to provide 30-minute paid lactation breaks following a recent amendment to Labor Law § 206-c. New York State has long required employers to support working mothers by providing...more
New York employers are now required to provide up to 30 minutes of paid break time each time an employee has a reasonable need to express breast milk. While New York employers have been required to provide breaks to nursing...more
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (the “EEOC”) issued a final regulation to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”). The regulation goes into effect on June 18, 2024....more
On April 15, 2024, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a Final Rule on implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). The PWFA was enacted in December 2022 and has been in effect since June...more
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), the newest member of the family of federal anti-discrimination laws, is almost one year old! Instead of inviting employers over for cake and photo ops, after one year of accepting...more
Recently, the Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the Department of Labor issued a Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) that provides guidance for employers on the application of artificial intelligence (AI) to the Fair Labor...more
The United States Equal Employment Opportunity (“EEOC”) has issued its final guidance on “Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace,” the first of its kind in over 20 years. This final guidance builds on a variety...more
The April release of the federal Title IX regulations came at the same time as the federal government released regulations under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and on the heels of the implementation of the Providing...more
After a lengthy gestation period, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission delivered its Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) regulations....more
On April 15, 2024 the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) published final regulations on the new federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). The new regulations, which will take effect June 18, 2024,...more