EEOC Updates “Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal” Poster

The EEOC recently updated the required EEO poster, known as the Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal poster. The update includes the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which went into effect on June 27, 2023.

What is the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act?

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is a new law that requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to workers that have known limitations due to pregnancy, childbirth, or other related medical conditions. Employers must provide reasonable accommodation to these workers, so long as that accommodation does not cause an undue hardship to the company.

What is not allowed under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act?

Under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, employers are not permitted to require an employee to take an accommodation without a discussion between the employer and company, deny employment or employment opportunities based on the need of an accommodation to a qualified applicant or employee, require an employee to take leave when an accommodation could be made for the employee to continue work, or retaliate against an employee for reporting discriminatory acts under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.

What do Employers need to do:

Employers will need to replace their current ‘Know Your Rights’ posters with the updated poster that includes the new Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Employers will need to ensure that the posting is in an accessible format and is placed in a conspicuous area where employees and applicants are able to view it.

More information on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, as well as the updated posters can be found on the EEOCs Website at https://www.eeoc.gov/wysk/what-you-should-know-about-pregnant-workers-fairness-act.