A chair, a water bottle, more restroom breaks, or a temporary shift change can be the difference between continuing to work safely and feeling pressured to leave. Pregnancy doesn’t mean leave is the only workplace option, and an employer generally can’t choose leave for an employee instead of considering a workable adjustment.
Federal, state, and New York City laws provide overlapping protections for pregnancy accommodations at work in New York. Knowing what to request and preserving the employer’s response can matter long before a dispute becomes a formal claim.
Accommodations That Can Keep You Working
A reasonable accommodation is a change to a job, schedule, policy, or work environment that addresses a pregnancy-related limitation while allowing an employee to continue working. The appropriate change depends on the employee’s needs and the work involved, but it doesn’t have to mean stepping away from the job entirely.
New York State law has expressly recognized reasonable accommodations for conditions associated with pregnancy since January 2016. Examples include:
- Occasional breaks to rest or drink water.
- A modified work schedule.
- Leave for medical needs related to pregnancy.
- Available light-duty work.
- A transfer away from hazardous duties.
For employees in New York City, the New York City Human Rights Law and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act of New York City apply to employers with four or more employees. These protections cover pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions without requiring the condition to qualify as a disability.
At the federal level, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act applies to employers with 15 or more employees. It requires reasonable accommodations for known limitations arising from pregnancy, childbirth, or associated medical conditions unless the change would cause an undue hardship, meaning significant difficulty or expense in the circumstances. A request should identify the workplace barrier and the practical change that would address it.
How to Request an Accommodation
A request doesn’t need legal terminology or a specific script. It should tell the employer about the pregnancy limitation, identify the requested adjustment, and provide enough information for the employer to respond.
An email creates a useful record of the date, the work issue, the requested change, and whether the request is temporary. For example, an employee might ask to keep water at a workstation, use a stool during a shift, or start later for a prenatal appointment.
In New York City, an employer must engage in a cooperative dialogue before claiming that no reasonable accommodation was available. This good-faith discussion should address the limitation, the employee’s needs, and possible workplace solutions. An employer shouldn’t ignore the request or reject it without that discussion.
Medical documentation isn’t always required. Under New York City law, employers generally can’t demand it for minor or temporary schedule changes, uniform adjustments, additional food, drink, bathroom, or rest breaks, or permission to sit. Under federal PWFA rules, employers must grant four accommodations in virtually all cases without supporting documentation:
- Carrying and drinking water as needed.
- Taking additional restroom breaks.
- Sitting or standing as needed.
- Taking breaks to eat and drink.
Save copies of emails, text messages, schedules, voluntarily provided documentation, and notes from conversations. A contemporaneous record is more useful than trying to reconstruct events months later.
Leave & Prenatal Care Serve Different Needs
An employee may need time away for prenatal care while remaining able and willing to work with adjustments. A request for one doesn’t give an employer permission to impose the other.
Under the New York State Human Rights Law, an employer can’t compel a pregnant employee to take leave unless the pregnancy prevents the employee from performing job activities in a reasonable manner. If an employee takes pregnancy-related leave, the employer can’t require the employee to remain out until childbirth and must hold the job to the same extent it holds jobs for employees taking leave for other reasons.
New York’s paid prenatal leave provides another protection. Since January 1, 2025, privately employed pregnant workers may use up to 20 hours of paid prenatal leave each year for appointments, procedures, and other medical care associated with pregnancy. This time is separate from regular sick leave.
When requesting time for care, put the request in writing and identify it as paid prenatal leave if that’s the benefit being used. If the goal is to remain at work, make that equally clear. Stating both points helps prevent an employer from assuming that an appointment or limitation requires a full leave of absence.
Plan for Pumping Before Returning to Work
Workplace accommodation rights continue after childbirth. Raising anticipated pumping needs before returning from leave gives the employee and employer time to arrange break coverage and identify an appropriate private space.
For up to three years after childbirth, nursing employees in New York may take reasonable unpaid break time, or use available paid break or meal time, as needed to express breast milk at work. Employers must make reasonable efforts to provide a private room or location near the employee’s work area for that purpose.
New York City imposes more detailed requirements. A lactation room must meet specified standards, including proximity to running water and a refrigerator. The space should be private and functional, not a bathroom or an area other people can freely enter.
A return-to-work message can provide the anticipated return date, expected pumping frequency, and known scheduling concerns. This advance notice doesn’t waive the employee’s right to request changes if their needs differ after returning.
What to Do When an Employer Denies or Ignores a Request
A denial isn’t automatically unlawful. The analysis depends on the request, the employee’s limitations, the employer’s response, and the federal, state, or city protections that apply. However, silence, a forced-leave directive, a demand for unnecessary documentation, or a change in treatment after a request should be taken seriously.
Preserve the request, the employer’s response, relevant handbook policies, work schedules, and a dated timeline of conversations. If a supervisor denied the request verbally, send a follow-up email confirming what was discussed and asking whether another accommodation will be considered.
Time limits matter. For federal claims under the PWFA or federal pregnancy discrimination law pursued through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, a charge in New York generally must be filed within 300 days of the discriminatory act. Waiting for an employer to resolve the problem informally can make it harder to protect every available option.
A clear, documented request gives the employer an opportunity to address the issue and gives the employee a stronger record if it doesn’t. If an adjustment is denied, ignored, or followed by retaliation, our New York employment attorneys bring more than 100 years of collective experience to representing employees in pregnancy discrimination matters. For a free consultation with Schwartz Perry & Heller LLP, call (646) 490-0221.