Employers in Illinois will have to comply with a new law, starting January 1, 2015. The recently passed amendment to the Illinois Human Rights Act provides that it is a civil rights violation for an employer to refuse to provide reasonable accommodations for an employee that are based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, if she so requests, with the advice of her health care provider. The term “reasonable accommodations” means actions which would enable an employee to perform the activities involved in her job and may include providing light duty work, acquisition or modification of equipment, job restructuring, more frequent breaks or a modified work schedule. The law provides an exception to the reasonable accommodations if the employer can show that it would impose an undue hardship on the business.

Golan & Christie recommends consulting with an employment attorney before responding to any requests for accommodation from pregnant employees and updating your employee handbook to reflect this change in the law.

To discuss how these issues apply to your company contact:
Laura A. Balson, (312)696-1351, labalson@golanchristie.com
or Margaret A. Gisch, (312)696-2039, magisch@golanchristie.com.