How familiar are you with KPWA and your business obligations under the new Kentucky state Law? It applies to employers with 15 or more employees, and requires that employers within the state make “reasonable accommodation” for new and expectant mothers, unless it would impose an undue hardship on the employer to do so. The law includes providing a private space for lactation.
The law expressly requires the employer and employee to engage in a timely, good faith, and interactive process to determine effective reasonable accommodations. This means that when the employee requests an accommodation, the employer must make a good faith decision regarding if the request is “reasonable” and not an undue hardship. “Undue hardship, ” the statute says, means an “action requiring significant difficulty or expense,” when considered in light of factors such as the cost of the needed accommodation, the overall financial resources of the facility, the overall financial resources of the covered employer, as well as the duration of the requested accommodation and whether similar accommodations have been made or are being made for other employees.
By June 27, employers must post a notice of the new law and provide written notice of these rights to current employees. Also, employers must begin providing notice to new employees of their right to be free from discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, and their right to be reasonably accommodated for such conditions.
Julie Bleich, Principal Consultant with People HR Solutions, LLC strongly recommends your business create a formal request and request consideration process to reduce the risk of non-compliance. Let us answer questions regarding the new Kentucky regulation or provide assistance updating your processes, your policies and preparing the required notices. Please contact People HR Solutions today.
