Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

On April 1, employers in the state of Massachusetts with 6 or more employees must comply with the accommodations under the Massachusetts Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.

The Act requires that employers provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant workers in much the same way as they are required to accommodate disabled workers.  Examples of some accommodations include:

• More frequent or longer unpaid breaks
• Time off due to pregnancy complications
• Longer than standard time off to recover after the birth of the child
• Acquisition of, or modification to, work equipment
• Temporary transfer to another position that may be less strenuous, physically demanding or hazardous
• Assignment to light duty work
• Modified work schedule
• Access to a private, non-bathroom to be used for lactation

Employers are required to provide reasonable accommodations, so accommodations which cause undue hardship to the organization are not required.  In addition, time off for breaks or work schedule changes can be made without payment of wages.

No poster is required for this new law, however, there are three notice requirements as follows:

• All employers must provide a general employee communication at the effective date of the law (April 1) that outlines an employees rights.  This communication must be in writing and can be provided by inclusion in the employee handbook or via a pamphlet.
• The same written notice must be given to all new employees at the time they are hired.
• The same written notice of rights must be provided to all pregnant works once the employer is notified of the employee’s pregnancy.  The employer has 10 days to provide written notice to the pregnant worker.

At The Labor Law Center we continually monitor local, state and federal posting requirements and will make them available as soon as they are released .  The All-In-One Massachusetts Labor Law Poster is available with all of the latest updates.

The Labor Law Center also offers a worry-free service to our customers through our Poster Service Plan with automatic replacements.  What this means is that we monitor the state and federal postings and automatically send you updates when they are released.  It is that simple!

We also offer clients our popular Education Center.  If you are new to labor law compliance or just wanting to keep up with the latest news and changes as they come out, this is the place to bookmark and visit regularly.