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New Laws for 2014: Pregnant Workers' Fairness Act (WV)


Each state has a host of new employment and labor related laws that take effect in 2014.  This series focuses on several new laws from around the country that are of particular interest.


West Virginia recently passed the Pregnant Workers' Fairness Act ("PWFA") which sets out additional protections for pregnant employees.  The statute makes it unlawful for employers to discriminate against a pregnant employee and also requires the employer to offer reasonable accommodations to pregnant employees, unless the accommodation would amount to an undue hardship. 

However, unlike the ADA, the PWFA makes it unlawful for an employer to "require a job applicant or employee affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition, to accept an accommodation that such applicant or employee chooses not to accept."  Interestingly enough, the statue fails to settle what happens when an employee rejects an accommodation and the employee and employer cannot agree on another accommodation which is deemed "reasonable".


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