Maryland Employers Soon Must Provide “Light Duty” to Pregnant Disabled Women and Update Employment Handbooks

Effective October 1, 2013, Maryland employers with 15 or more employees must provide their pregnant employees with certain reasonable accommodations beyond the requirements of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA). The Reasonable Accommodations for Disabilities Due to Pregnancy Act (SB 784/HB 804) mandates that employers provide pregnant employees who are temporarily disabled with light duty assignments or transfers to less strenuous jobs, among other potential accommodations. Typically, these accommodations remove essential functions from a job, in contrast to traditional ADA accommodations which remove impediments or otherwise assist employees in performing the essential functions of their jobs.