Requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees based on pregnancy or childbirth and providing civil penalties

This bill requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees based on pregnancy or childbirth. The bill requires an employer to provide reasonable accommodations to an employee based on medical conditions related to the employee’s pregnancy or childbirth if the employee requests reasonable accommodations with the advice of the employee’s health care provider. The bill defines “reasonable accommodations” as actions which would permit an employee with a medical condition relating to the employee’s pregnancy or childbirth to perform in a reasonable manner the activities involved in the employee’s specific occupation and include but are not limited to the provision of an accessible worksite, acquisition or modification of equipment, job restructuring, and a modified work schedule. The bill provides that “reasonable accommodations” does not mean any action that would impose an undue hardship on the business of the employer from whom the action is requested. The bill provides that an employer who violates the bill is subject to a civil penalty of up to $750. The director of the Iowa office of civil rights shall adopt rules to enforce the bill and provide exemptions where reasonable. The director or director’s representative upon presenting appropriate credentials to the person in charge may inspect employment records relating to the total number of employees and pregnant employees or employees recovering from childbirth and the services provided to pregnant employees or employees recovering from childbirth, as well as interview an employer, operator, owner, agent, or employee during working hours or at other reasonable times. The bill provides that compliance with minimum standards required by the bill shall not be subject to or considered in collective bargaining.