Managing Pregnancy, Birth and Related Medical Conditions

The accommodation process begins when the University is made aware of the need for an accommodation, whether by the employee themselves or the employee’s representative (family member, healthcare professional or someone aware of the employee’s need). Requests for accommodations can be made to a manager, supervisor, someone with supervisory authority, an Office of Human Resources representative, an Office of Access Compliance and Education representative, or someone who directs the employee’s tasks.

You cannot require the employee to fill out a form or submit their request in writing. Any conversation, including a spoken one, is enough to start the interactive process.

If an employee notifies you of the need for an accommodation, you must engage in an “interactive process” with the individual. This means you must communicate with the employee about the known limitation and the change needed at work.

Respond promptly to this request. If it does not cause an undue hardship, you should generally provide a reasonable accommodation – either what the employee requests or another effective accommodation. If a requested accommodation is one of the four “predictable assessments” listed below, in virtually all cases, you must allow the request:

• allowing an employee to carry or keep water near and drink, as needed;
• allowing an employee to take additional restroom breaks, as needed;
• allowing an employee whose work requires standing to sit and whose work requires sitting to stand, as needed;
• allowing an employee to take breaks to eat and drink, as needed.

You should not ask for medical documentation or ask about medical conditions. Only discuss the limitations of the employee’s essential functions.

If you need assistance making this assessment, ask for help. If you have questions, or feel the accommodation may cause an “undue hardship,” fill out the Pregnancy-Related Accommodation Support Form.

You must document the accommodation you provided, share it with the employee and save it for your records. When documenting the provided accommodation, include the requested start and end date of the accommodation (if known), the employee's name and the accommodation provided.