Pregnancy Accommodations at Work

Common barriers at work

These are some of the tasks that people with this condition often find harder at work. Not everyone experiences all of them, and naming a barrier is simply the first step toward a change that helps.

• Standing or sitting in one position for long stretches.
• Lifting, carrying, pushing, or pulling.
• Nausea, and needing to eat, drink water, or use the restroom more often.
• Getting to medical appointments, and recovering after childbirth.

Accommodations that can help

Many of these are low cost or no cost. You do not have to accept the first idea, you can combine several, and what works is individual. The Job Accommodation Network keeps a fuller list for this condition.

• More frequent or longer breaks Time to eat, drink water, rest, or use the restroom as often as you need.
• A place to sit A stool or chair for a job usually done standing, or the option to stand for a job usually done sitting.
• Telework or remote work Working from home for some or all of the week when the job allows it.
• A modified schedule Shorter hours, a later start, or more flexible timing while a limitation lasts.
• Light duty or help with lifting Temporary changes to heavy tasks, or help with lifting, carrying, pushing, or pulling.
• Time off when needed Leave for medical appointments, or to recover from childbirth or a related condition.

How to ask

You can keep the first ask short. Under the PWFA, you do not need to use any special words or prove a disability. It is enough to let your employer know that you need an adjustment because of a limitation related to your pregnancy. Name the limitation, suggest a change, and connect it to doing your job. Here is sample language you can adapt.

Want a full version to adapt and print? See the reasonable accommodation request letter.

What documentation may be involved

• An employer can only ask for documentation when it is reasonable under the circumstances, and it should confirm the limitation and the need for an adjustment, not your full medical history.
• For several common accommodations, such as keeping water nearby, extra restroom breaks, and sitting or standing as needed, an employer should not ask for documentation at all.
• When documentation is needed, it can come from a range of qualified health providers.

When a request can be denied

A no is rarely the final word. Employers commonly give one of these reasons, and each one leaves room to keep talking:

• The specific accommodation would cause the employer significant difficulty or expense, known as undue hardship (this is a high bar).
• A different accommodation would be just as effective. The employer can offer an equally effective alternative through the interactive process.
• What an employer cannot do: force you to take leave, paid or unpaid, when another reasonable accommodation would let you keep working.

Sources

The official and primary sources behind this page.

1. 1 What You Should Know About the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (opens in a new tab) U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
2. 2 Pregnancy (opens in a new tab) Job Accommodation Network (JAN)
3. 3 The Americans with Disabilities Act (opens in a new tab) U.S. Department of Justice, ADA.gov The PWFA, not the ADA, is the main law for pregnancy accommodations, though the ADA can also apply when a related condition is itself a disability.

Related pages and next steps

• The interactive process, step by step
• Reasonable accommodation request letter
• If your request is denied