Maryland Employers to Provide Pregnant Workers with Accommodation under New Law

Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley has signed into law the Reasonable Accommodations for Disabilities Due to Pregnancy Law. The law, which becomes effective on October 1, 2013, amends the Maryland Fair Employment Practices Act and creates new burdens for employers beyond those required under federal law. Maryland joins a growing number of states that mandate employers provide some form of accommodation to pregnant workers. (E.g., see California Issues Amended Pregnancy Regulations, Extends Coverage to Perceived Pregnancy.) Significantly, as illustrated by the new Maryland law, these state laws impose different and arguably greater obligations than such federal laws as the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (“PDA”) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), even after passage of the ADA Amendments Act (“ADAAA”).