Pregnancy discrimination - District of Columbia

Human Rights Act

Employer defined

“Employer” means any person who, for compensation, employs an individual, except for:

Protecting Pregnant Workers Fairness Act of 2014, as amended

The law applies to all employers in D.C. regardless of size. Employers must provide reasonable accommodations for employees whose ability to perform the functions of her job is limited by pregnancy, childbirth, a related medical condition, breastfeeding, or reproductive health decisions.

A reasonable accommodation could include the following:

• More frequent or longer breaks;
• Time off to recover from childbirth;
• The acquisition or modification of equipment or seating;
• The temporary transfer to a less strenuous or hazardous position;
• Job restructuring such as providing light duty or a modified work schedule;
• Having the employee refrain from heavy lifting;
• Relocating the employee’s work area;
• Providing private non-bathroom space for expressing breast milk; or
• Time off due to pre-birth complications.

Employers need not provide an accommodation that would pose an undue hardship. An undue hardship is any action that requires significant difficulty in the operation of the employer’s business or significant expense on the behalf of the employer when considered in relation to factors such as the size of the business, its financial resources, and the nature and structure of its operation. The employer would have the burden of establishing an undue hardship defense.

Employers need to engage in good faith in a timely and interactive process with an employee requesting or otherwise needing a reasonable accommodation to determine an accommodation for the employee.

Employers may require an employee to provide a certification from the employee’s health care provider concerning the medical advisability of a reasonable accommodation to the same extent one is required for other temporary disabilities. The certification is to include the following:

• The date the reasonable accommodation became or will become medically advisable,
• An explanatory statement as to the medical condition and the advisability of providing the reasonable accommodation in light of the condition, and
• The probable duration that the reasonable accommodation will need to be provided.

Employers need to post a notice of rights related to this law in both English and Spanish. They also need to provide a written copy of notice to new employees and to employees who notify the employee of pregnancy or other covered condition within 10 days. Existing employees need to be provided a notice within 120 days after the act’s effective date.