HR Hotline: Does the ADA Require Accommodations for Menstrual Cramps?

Q: One of our employees has requested accommodations related to painful menstrual cramps. Does the ADA require that we do this? And if we accommodate her, won’t we have to accommodate half our workforce?

A: It’s important to remember that the Americans with Disabilities Act protects an employee based on their specific, personalized experience of a disability.

So, no: even if your employee has a disability, a decision to accommodate her will not require that you accommodate all menstruating women.

As to whether you must accommodate in the first place: that depends on the answers to four questions:

1. Does the employee’s condition qualify as a disability under the ADA?

2. Did she give you adequate notice of the disability?

3. Can she perform the essential functions of the job with reasonable accommodations?

4. Would it be an undue hardship for you to provide them?

ADA Definitions

For your situation, we’ll focus on the first two.

Can a painful menstrual cycle rise to the level of a disability under the ADA? In short: yes. Does it always, for all women? No.

The ADA defines a “disability” as “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.”

The same diagnosis may qualify as a disability for one person, but not another.

The same diagnosis may qualify as a disability for one person, but not another, depending on the circumstances.

For example, one court recently determined that an employee’s endometriosis was a disability, because it caused her severe menstrual cramping, vomiting, and confinement to bed for one day each month.

Other courts have come to the opposite conclusion for the same medical condition.

Impact, Notice Requirements

So, for you, the million-dollar question is: how does your employee’s condition impact her?

Which also brings us to the second question: has she adequately put you on notice?

The same court that determined that endometriosis could be a disability also ruled that the employee had failed to put her employer on notice of that disability.

Although she had told her supervisor that she suffered from cramps, she did not disclose the severity of the pain, or the extent to which it impacted her life and her ability to function.

The best course of action for you is to initiate a dialogue with your employee.

If an employer is not put on notice in this way, it will have no reason to know that accommodations are needed, and so will have no obligation to provide them.

The best course of action for you is to initiate a dialogue with your employee, so you can better understand the severity of her condition, her limitations, and the ways in which an accommodation would help.

You may ask relevant questions, and request supporting medical documentation. You can find more information about this process here.

An employer’s legal responsibilities under the ADA can be complex and confusing. For more help with this process, join us at CBIA’s May 20 HR Conference, where we’ll be giving practical, real-world guidance on common accommodation problems.

And don’t forget to ask your questions live at our April 29 HR Hotline Live webinar, where we’ll be focusing on pregnancy accommodations.

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HR problems or issues? Email or call CBIA’s Diane Mokriski at the HR Hotline (860.244.1900). The HR Hotline is a free service for CBIA member companies and is intended to provide general information and does not constitute legal advice. Please consult with legal professionals for specific guidance for your situation.