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Small Business Human Resources Workforce Development Your Questions Answered Success Stories

July/August 2007 — Vol. 85, No. 6

SMALL BUSINESS

Even small businesses must grant pregnancy leave

 

A little-known provision of a state law requires even very small companies to allow an employee to take a leave of absence for pregnancy and childbirth.

“Small employers sometimes think that, because they’re not subject to the Family and Medical Leave Act, they’re not obligated to grant pregnancy leaves,” says Lynn Atkinson, CBIA employment specialist. “That’s not true. The state has a pregnancy leave law that applies to companies with as few as three employees.”

Connecticut’s Fair Employment Practices Act includes provisions banning employment discrimination based on pregnancy. Under the law:

  • Employers may not discriminate against an employee based on pregnancy.

  • Employers must grant a reasonable unpaid leave of absence for a disability resulting from pregnancy. “Reasonable” has been interpreted to mean as long as is medically necessary.

  • A pregnant worker may request a temporary transfer to a more accommodating position if she reasonably believes employment in her current position may cause injury to her or the fetus.

  • The employer must inform employees that written notice of pregnancy is necessary for the employee to be eligible for transfer to a temporary position.

  • After the birth, the employee must be reinstated to her original position or to an equivalent job with equivalent pay.

Civil Rights Act also applies

Employers with 15 or more workers are also covered by the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act, an amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Under Title VII, discrimination on the basis of pregnancy constitutes sex discrimination, according to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The EEOC says Title VII’s pregnancy-related protections cover:

  • Hiring — An employer may not refuse to hire a woman because of her pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition.

  • Pregnancy and maternity leave — An employer must treat pregnancy-related leaves the same way it treats other types of disability or sick leaves. If an employee has been absent from work for a pregnancy-related condition and recovers, her employer may not require her to stay out on leave until after her baby is born.

  • Health insurance — Employer-provided health insurance must provide the same level of coverage for medical expenses resulting from pregnancy as it does for other medical conditions.

  • Fringe benefits — An employee with a pregnancy-related disability must be treated the same as other temporarily disabled employees regarding accrual of seniority, vacation calculation, pay increases and temporary disability benefits. And if employees out on other types of leaves receive benefits, so must someone who is on a pregnancy leave. Employers may not limit pregnancy-related benefits to married employees.

Title VII also prohibits retaliation against an employee who has filed a pregnancy-related discrimination charge.

The number of such charges filed with the EEOC has been on the rise. The agency received 4,901 pregnancy-discrimination charges last year, up from 4,730 in 2005, 4,887 in 2004 and 4,649 in 2003.

Note: If you have questions about leaves or other employment issues, call CBIA’s employment specialists at 860-244-1900.