New Illinois Law Requires Employers to Provide Accommodations to Pregnant Employees and Applicants

STEVEN IVY P.C. – EMPLOYMENT LAW – Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has approved a law providing additional protections for pregnant women in the workplace. The law will go into effect on January 1, 2015. House Bill 8 (P.A. 98-1050) amends the Illinois Human Rights Act (“IHRA”) and creates new responsibilities for employers with respect to their pregnant workers beyond those required under federal law. Illinois joins a growing number of states that make employers provide some form of accommodation to pregnant workers. (For an example, see our article, California Issues Amended Pregnancy Regulations, Extends Coverage to Perceived Pregnancy.) Significantly, as illustrated by the new Illinois law, these state laws impose different and arguably greater obligations on businesses than federal laws such as the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (“PDA”) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), even after passage of the ADA Amendments Act (“ADAAA”).READ MORE AT http://lnkd.in/buRx_-H