A bill named the Pregnancy Reasonable Accommodation Act was recently introduced in the Ohio Senate (S.B. 301). Although the bill is only in its infancy, it has bipartisan support in the Senate and could quickly be ratified. If the bill becomes law, it could dramatically increase the rights of pregnant employees and place additional unwanted burdens on employers. The bill would require employers to grant pregnant employees a reasonable accommodation, which could include:
- modifying equipment, seating or uniforms
- providing assistance with manual labor
- providing light duty work
- modifying schedules
- restructuring jobs
- providing temporary transfer to a less strenuous or hazardous position
- providing break time to express breast milk
- providing time off to recover from childbirth.