AG Platkin, Division on Civil Rights issue guidance on workplace accommodations for pregnant, postpartum, breastfeeding and lactating employees

NEW JERSEY – Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division on Civil Rights issued guidance Tuesday to clarify the comprehensive anti-discrimination protections available under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD), as expanded by the New Jersey Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, for employees who are pregnant, postpartum, breastfeeding, or lactating or who experience related medical conditions.

As the guidance explains, New Jersey law requires most employers in New Jersey to make reasonable accommodations for pregnant, postpartum, breastfeeding, or lactating employees unless they can show that doing so poses an undue hardship to the employer’s business. The guidance identifies examples of reasonable accommodations that may be required under the LAD and explains the broad anti-discrimination protections the LAD affords for pregnant, postpartum, breastfeeding, and lactating employees.

“Through Nurture NJ, we have made it our mission to uplift moms across our state, helping them prioritize their health and the health of their babies both during pregnancy and throughout the early stages of parenthood,” said First Lady Tammy Murphy. “The Law Against Discrimination and this new guidance on protections and accommodations available to pregnant, postpartum, breastfeeding and lactating employees will be a critical addition to our toolbox as we work to ensure parents in New Jersey understand their rights and feel supported in the workplace.”

“New Jersey offers some of the nation’s strongest protections against discrimination, and it’s imperative that employees understand their rights and that employers know their responsibilities under the law,” Platkin said. “We want our residents to know the protections they are entitled to, and we want to make sure our businesses have the resources they need to comply with our laws. With the guidance issued today, we’re making it clear what accommodations our laws require for employees who are pregnant, postpartum, breastfeeding, or lactating.”

“The protections our law provides to employees who are pregnant, postpartum, breastfeeding, or lactating are essential to supporting our state’s workers and our state’s economy. Those protections allow them to do their jobs safely and without fear of discrimination or retaliation,” said Sundeep Iyer, Director of the Division on Civil Rights. “Too often, however, employers deny pregnant, postpartum, breastfeeding, or lactating employees reasonable accommodations.  The guidance we’re issuing today is the latest step we’re taking to ensure that employers provide necessary accommodations and meet their obligations under the law.”

The LAD expressly lists the minimum reasonable accommodations that employers must provide pregnant, postpartum, breastfeeding, and lactating employees. Employers are required to provide pregnant employees with bathroom breaks, hydration breaks, periodic rest, assistance with manual labor, job restructuring or modified work schedules, and temporary transfers to less strenuous or hazardous work. For lactating employees, employers are required to provide reasonable break time each day and a suitable room or other location with privacy, other than a toilet stall, near the work area for the employee to express milk. The guidance also provides dozens of additional examples of accommodations that may be required pursuant to the LAD.  Those reasonable accommodations may include, time off or scheduling flexibility for health care appointments, workstation modifications to reduce pain and discomfort, modifications to uniforms or dress codes, modifications to eating and drinking policies, remote work, and adjustments to quotas or production standards to reflect milk expression breaks.

The guidance explains that the LAD requires employers to either grant accommodation requests without undue delay or, if the request is extremely expensive or difficult to accommodate, work with the employee to find alternative accommodations.

In addition, the guidance provides a non-exhaustive list of examples of medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, and lactation that may entitle an employee to receive reasonable accommodations.  These may include, but are not limited to, medical conditions experienced during pregnancy; pre-existing conditions exacerbated by pregnancy or childbirth; medical conditions that occur after a pregnancy; medical conditions related to possible pregnancy, such as those related to fertility; pregnancy loss, including miscarriage and stillbirth; and conditions related to lactation. Protections for pregnant, postpartum, breastfeeding, and lactating employees afforded under New Jersey law exist separate and apart from protections afforded under federal law. In some cases, the LAD may provide broader protection than is available under federal law.

The guidance issued today continues the Department of Law and Public Safety’s efforts to protect the rights of pregnant employees in New Jersey in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning the federal constitutional right to an abortion.

To learn more about workplace reasonable accommodations covered by the guidance, consult our accompanying policy briefs: Workplace Accommodations for Breastfeeding and Lactation; What Employers Need to Know About Workplace Pregnancy Accommodations; and What Employees Need to Know About Workplace Pregnancy Accommodations.

For additional information about protections for pregnant, postpartum, breastfeeding, and lactating employees and DCR’s work, visit our Pregnancy, Breastfeeding, and Reproductive Rights in New Jersey website.