SimplyHR | Employment & Labor Blog 

Amy Blaisdell was interviewed by Fox2News regarding the Supreme Court's decision in Young v. UPS, which addressed an employer's obligation to accommodate women under the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act. Additionally, effective 1/1/2015, Illinois has a new Pregnancy Fairness Law which places additional accommodation obligations on Illinois employers. Watch the interview.

What is the Illinois Pregnancy Fairness Law?

Effective January 1, 2015, the Illinois Pregnancy Fairness Law provides workplace protections to all expectant mothers, regardless of an employer’s size. The Illinois Pregnancy Fairness Law amends the Illinois Human Rights Act, adding “pregnancy” as a protected class under state law. “Pregnancy” is defined broadly to mean “pregnancy, childbirth, or other medical or common conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth.” Accordingly, effective 1/1/15, the IHRA prohibits discrimination on the basis of “pregnancy” against applicants and employees and also requires employers to provide accommodations to expectant mothers to enable them to perform the job the job held or sought unless the employer can establishing that doing so would cause an undue hardship on the ordinary operation of the business. The Illinois law also prohibits retaliation against individuals who exercise their right to an accommodation under the law.