A.4272 / S.8 - Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

The American Congress of Obstetricians & Gynecologists
District II
100 Great Oaks Blvd., Suite 109
Albany, New York 12203
Ph: (518)436-3461 Fax: (518)426-4728
[email protected]
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT
S8 Hannon
Passed Senate
A4272 Gunther
Referred to Governmental Operations
The American Congress of Obstetricians & Gynecologists (ACOG) supports this legislation which
would provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant women in the workplace, and ensure the best
possible environment for the health and welfare of pregnant women.
This bill would prohibit the discrimination of pregnant workers by requiring employers to
provide a reasonable accommodation to those who suffer conditions related to pregnancy and
childbirth, unless doing so would pose an undue hardship for the employer.
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Women represent 47% of the general workforce in the U.S.i
¾ of working women in America will be pregnant and employed at some point. ii
74.2% of all working mothers are single mothers and 67.8% were married.iii
In New York 61% of pregnant women or moms with children under a year old work.iv
Some women—especially those in physically strenuous jobs—will face a conflict between their
work duties and the demands of pregnancy, and will need minor job modifications (aka
reasonable accommodations).
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88% of first-time mothers who worked while pregnant worked into their last two months of
pregnancy, and 82% worked into their last month of pregnancy.v
A reasonable accommodation may include: bathroom breaks, breaks to facilitate increased
water intake, periodic rest and/or providing a stool for those who stand for long periods of time,
and assistance with heavy lifting or other types of manual labor.
Pregnancy related conditions that may require a reasonable accommodation include: gestational
diabetes, high blood pressure, urinary tract infections and dehydration.
Women who continue working under stressful and dangerous conditions jeopardize their own
health and the health of their pregnancy through an increased their risk of miscarriage, preterm
labor, preterm birth, low birth weight, and preeclampsia.vi
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Reasonable accommodations for pregnant women in the workplace are a public health
necessity.
Providing reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers promotes economic security and
stability for both families and employers.
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41% of mothers are primary breadwinners and many of these families cannot afford to lose this
income. vii
While employee turnover typically costs about one-fifth of an employee’s salary to replace a
lower wage employee. That cost increases for higher skilled and higher salaried positions.viii
Annually in New York pregnant women only account for 4.3% of all employed women and
only 1.5 % of all employed people in the state.ix
Therefore, providing reasonable accommodations could benefits employers by reducing
turnover by increasing productivity.
Ensuring equal opportunity for working women is vital to the health and economic security of families
in New York State.
It is for these reasons that ACOG District II supports and urges for the passage of this legislation
March 2015
The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, District II (ACOG) represents the board certified obstetriciangynecologists in the state who deliver health care to New York’s women. Our Albany office offers the New York State
Legislature its resources as a scientific and educational organization dedicated to quality health care for women. If you
have questions on this or any other state legislative proposal, please contact our office at 518-436-3461.
i
U.S. Census Bureau, DataFerrett, Current Population Survey, Monthly Microdata, December 2014.
3 Cawthorne, A., & Alpert, M. (2009, August 3). Labor Pains: Improving Employment and Economic Security for Pregnant Women and
New Mothers. Center for American Progress Publication. Available at:
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/08/pregnancy_support.html
iii Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, http://www.bls.gov/news.release/famee.toc.htm (Tables 5 and 6), 2013 annual
averages.
iv National Partnership for Women and Families. “Pregnant Workers Need Pregnant workers Fairness Act.” Factsheet. May2013
v U.S. CENSUS BUREAU, MATERNITY LEAVE AND EMPLOYMENT PATTERNS OF FIRST-TIME MOTHERS: 1961-2008 4
(2011), available at http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/p70-128.pdf (Table 1)
vi Katz VL. Work and work-related stress in pregnancy. Clin Obstet Gynecol. 2012 Sep;55(3):765-73.
vii Sarah Jane Glynn, Center for American Progress, The New Breadwinners: 2010 Update (Apr. 16, 2012), available at
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/labor/report/2012/04/16/11377/the-new-breadwinners-2010-update/.
viii Boushey, H. Glynn, S.J.. “There Are Significant Business Costs to Replacing Employees.” The Center for American Progress. 2012
November 16. Available at: https://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/CostofTurnover.pdf
ix “Pregnant Workers Make Up a Small Share of the Workforce and Can Be Readily Accommodated: A State-By-State Analysis.”
National Women’s Law Center. Factsheet. March 2013
ii