Leave for menopause? Federal bill introduced

On July 14, U.S. Representatives Debbie Dingell and Yvette Clarke introduced a bill aimed at expanding workplace protections for employees experiencing menopause.

The Menopausal Workers’ Fairness Act would:

• Require employers to provide reasonable accommodations to known limitations related to menopause.
• Prohibit employers from discriminating against employees in employment opportunities based on requested accommodations.
• Prohibit employers from requiring an employee experiencing menopause to take leave or accept an accommodation.
• Require employers to keep medical information related to menopause confidential.
• Direct the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to issue regulations with examples of known limitations, reasonable accommodations, and when it may be reasonable for employers to seek supporting documentation.

The measure is similar to the current Pregnant Workers’ Fairness Act (PWFA), which doesn’t specifically mention menopause. Like the PWFA, employers would need to provide some accommodations without documentation, such as being able to drink water at a workstation. Employers wouldn’t, however, have to provide an accommodation that would pose an undue hardship, such as an accommodation that’s too costly or cumbersome for the business.

In the bill, the term ‘‘known limitation’’ means physical or mental effects related to, affected by, or arising out of menopause, menopause transition, symptoms, and related effects. It doesn’t have to be a disability. Some limitations, such as depression, however, could also be disabilities.

The representatives indicate that menopausal symptoms affect a significant portion of employees. A lack of a comprehensive menopause-specific set of workplace protections could be negatively affecting employers. U.S. companies could lose billions of dollars annually due to:

• Reduced productivity,
• Increased absenteeism, and
• Premature loss of talent related to unmanaged menopausal symptoms.

Beyond the direct financial impact, businesses might also contend with a loss of institutional knowledge, reduced innovation, decreased team cohesion, and a lack of women in senior leadership roles.

While this bill has little chance of becoming federal law, it helps illustrate a growing trend at the state level. Rhode Island, for example, is the first state to mandate workplace accommodations for menopause. Other states are considering related measures.

Employers aren’t prohibited from accommodating employees who are struggling with menopausal symptoms. If symptoms rise to the level of a serious health condition as defined under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act, employers would be required to provide job-protected, unpaid leave.

Key to remember: While most employers have no compliance actions yet, they should keep menopause accommodation provisions on their radar.