Rhode Island 2025 Regular Session

Rhode Island House Bill H6161 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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5	5	2025 -- H 6161
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7	7	LC002611
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9	9	S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
10	10	IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
11	11	JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025
12	12	____________
13	13
14	14	A N A C T
15	15	RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRAC TICES
16	16	Introduced By: Representatives Alzate, Boylan, Speakman, Spears, Carson, Donovan,
17	17	Kazarian, Stewart, and Cruz
18	18	Date Introduced: April 02, 2025
19	19	Referred To: House Labor
20	20
21	21
22	22	It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
23	23	SECTION 1. Section 28-5-7.4 of the General Laws in Chapter 28-5 entitled "Fair 1
24	24	Employment Practices" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2
25	25	28-5-7.4. Accommodation of pregnancy-related conditions. Accommodation of 3
26	26	pregnancy-related and menopause-related conditions. 4
27	27	(a) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer, as defined in § 28-5-6, to 5
28	28	do the following: 6
29	29	(1) To refuse to reasonably accommodate an employee’s or prospective employee’s 7
30	30	condition related to pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, or a related medical condition, including, 8
31	31	but not limited to, the need to express breast milk for a nursing child, if she so requests, unless the 9
32	32	employer can demonstrate that the accommodation would pose an undue hardship on the 10
33	33	employer’s program, enterprise, or business; 11
34	34	(2) To require an employee to take leave if another reasonable accommodation can be 12
35	35	provided to an employee’s condition related to the pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, or a related 13
36	36	medical condition; 14
37	37	(3) To deny employment opportunities to an employee or prospective employee, if such 15
38	38	denial is based on the refusal of the employer to reasonably accommodate an employee’s or 16
39	39	prospective employee’s condition related to pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, or a related medical 17
40	40	condition; 18
41	41	(4) To fail to provide written notice, including notice conspicuously posted at an 19
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44	44	LC002611 - Page 2 of 4
45	45	employer’s place of business in an area accessible to employees, of the right to be free from 1
46	46	discrimination in relation to pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, and related conditions, including 2
47	47	the right to reasonable accommodations for conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, 3
48	48	or related conditions pursuant to this section to: 4
49	49	(i) New employees at the commencement of employment; 5
50	50	(ii) Existing employees within one hundred twenty (120) days after the effective date of 6
51	51	June 25, 2015; 7
52	52	(iii) Any employee who notifies the employer of her pregnancy or menopause, within ten 8
53	53	(10) days of such notification; 9
54	54	(5) For any person, whether or not an employer, employment agency, labor organization, 10
55	55	or employee, to aid, abet, incite, compel, or coerce the doing of any act declared by this section to 11
56	56	be an unlawful employment practice; or to obstruct or prevent any person from complying with the 12
57	57	provisions of this section or any order issued pursuant to this section; or to attempt directly or 13
58	58	indirectly to commit any act declared by this section to be an unlawful employment practice. 14
59	59	(b) For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings: 15
60	60	(1) “Qualified employee or prospective employee” means a “qualified individual” as 16
61	61	defined in 42-87-1(3)(i); 17
62	62	(2) “Reasonably accommodate” means providing reasonable accommodations, including, 18
63	63	but not limited to, more frequent or longer breaks, time off to recover from childbirth, acquisition 19
64	64	or modification of equipment, seating, temporary transfer to a less strenuous or hazardous position, 20
65	65	job restructuring, light duty, break time and private non-bathroom space for expressing breast milk, 21
66	66	assistance with manual labor, or modified work schedules; 22
67	67	(3) “Related conditions” includes, but is not limited to, lactation or the need to express 23
68	68	breast milk for a nursing child, or the need to manage the effects of vasomotor symptoms; 24
69	69	(4) “Undue hardship” means an action requiring significant difficulty or expense to the 25
70	70	employer. In making a determination of undue hardship, the factors that may be considered include, 26
71	71	but shall not be limited to, the following: 27
72	72	(i) The nature and cost of the accommodation; 28
73	73	(ii) The overall financial resources of the employer; the overall size of the business of the 29
74	74	employer with respect to the number of employees, and the number, type, and location of its 30
75	75	facilities; and 31
76	76	(iii) The effect on expenses and resources or the impact otherwise of such accommodation 32
77	77	upon the operation of the employer. 33
78	78	(A) The employer shall have the burden of proving undue hardship. 34
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82	82	(B) The fact that the employer provides, or would be required to provide, a similar 1
83	83	accommodation to other classes of employees who need it, such as those who are injured on the 2
84	84	job or those with disabilities, shall create a rebuttable presumption that the accommodation does 3
85	85	not impose an undue hardship on the employer. 4
86	86	(c) No employer shall be required by this section to create additional employment that the 5
87	87	employer would not otherwise have created, unless the employer does so, or would do so, for other 6
88	88	classes of employees who need accommodation, such as those who are injured on the job or those 7
89	89	with disabilities. 8
90	90	(d) No employer shall be required to discharge any employee; transfer any employee with 9
91	91	more seniority; or promote any employee who is not qualified to perform the job, unless the 10
92	92	employer does so, or would do so, to accommodate other classes of employees who need it, such 11
93	93	as those who are injured on the job or those with disabilities. 12
94	94	(e) The provisions of this section shall not be construed to affect any other provision of law 13
95	95	relating to sex discrimination, or pregnancy, or menopause, or to preempt, limit, diminish, or 14
96	96	otherwise affect any other law that provides greater protection or specific benefits with respect to 15
97	97	pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, or medical conditions related to childbirth or menopause. 16
98	98	(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require an individual with a need related to 17
99	99	pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, or a related medical condition to accept an accommodation 18
100	100	which such individual chooses not to accept. 19
101	101	SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 20
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108	108	EXPLANATION
109	109	BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
110	110	OF
111	111	A N A C T
112	112	RELATING TO LABOR AND LABOR RELATIONS -- FAIR EMPLOYMENT PRA CTICES
113	113	***
114	114	This act would update and expand the current law to include menopause and menopause 1
115	115	related conditions in the law on fair employment practices pertaining to pregnancy and pregnancy 2
116	116	related conditions. 3
117	117	This act would take effect upon passage. 4
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