Senator Casey: Pregnant Women In Workplace Should Get Same Protections As Americans With Disabilities Act
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Pennsylvania US Senator Bob Casey is reintroducing two pieces of legislation that deal with pregnant women in the workforce and flexibility for working families.
Senator Casey says the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is modeled after the Americans with Disabilities Act, which he says has worked well since 1990. He says the proposed law calls on employers to provide a "reasonable accommodation" to pregnant women on the job.
"It doesn't say that worker can demand anything they want, and get anything they want," Casey said.
Casey says 18 states and six cities, including Philadelphia, have adopted pregnancy accommodation legislation, like making minor job modifications that do not pose undue hardship to employers.
Director JoAnn Fischer of the Philadephia-based Maternity Care Coalition related several examples, like a pregnant cashier in a grocery store.
"She needed to drink water all of the time, but there were prohibitions about drinking and eating on the job," Fischer said. "She was at the checkout counter."
Her group even helped a pregnant teenager who left school because she was embarrassed that she couldn't fit in the classroom chair.
'We were able to get her accommodation of a larger chair," Fischer said.
Casey's other bill centers on Flexibility for Working Families, a proposal that guarantees employees the right to "request" work arrangements in terms of hours, scheduled or work location.
"The employer may say 'we'll take a look at it,' and nothing may flow from it. All we're saying is that an employee gets to ask about it and not get fired."