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Employers who have at least 15 employees in Kentucky are now required to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers. The Kentucky Pregnant Workers Act was signed into law on April 9, 2019, and becomes effective on June 27, 2019.

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While discrimination against pregnant workers was already prohibited under the Kentucky Civil Rights Act (KCRA), as well as federal law, the new law amends the KCRA and now requires employers to go one step further and provide reasonable accommodations for an employee’s limitations due to her pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions. This requirement to accommodate limitations is more expansive than the requirement to provide reasonable accommodations for disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended (ADA), and to provide leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) where the employee is unable to perform job duties due to a serious health condition.

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The statute defines reasonable accommodations to include more frequent or longer breaks, time off to recover from childbirth, acquisition or modification of equipment, appropriate seating, temporary transfer to a less strenuous or less hazardous position, job restructuring, light duty, modified work schedule and private space that is not a bathroom for expressing breast milk. The lactation accommodations are similar to the FLSA requirement for break time and a private space for nursing mothers to express milk for one year after birth, except that the Kentucky requirement applies to both exempt and non-exempt employees and does not have a time limit.

Other key aspects of the new Kentucky Pregnant Workers Act include:

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On or before June 27, 2019, covered employers in Kentucky should do the following, consistent with the new law:

If you need assistance with meeting the obligations under the new law, please contact:

Heather M. Muzumdar 513.352.6691 <a href="mailto:Heather.Muzumdar@ThompsonHine.com">Heather.Muzumdar@ThompsonHine.com</a>

M. Scott Young 513.352.6617 <a href="mailto:Scott.Young@ThompsonHine.com">Scott.Young@ThompsonHine.com</a>

or any member of our <a href="http://www.thompsonhine.com/services/labor-amp-employment">Labor &amp; Employment</a> group.

This advisory bulletin may be reproduced, in whole or in part, with the prior permission of Thompson Hine LLP and acknowledgment of its source and copyright. This publication is intended to inform clients about legal matters of current interest. It is not intended as legal advice. Readers should not act upon the information contained in it without professional counsel.

This document may be considered attorney advertising in some jurisdictions.

https://admin.thompsonhine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Labor__Employment_@lert_-_New_Pregnancy_Accommodation_Law_for_Kentucky_Employers.pdf

New Pregnancy Accommodation Law for Kentucky Employers

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