WSR 19-14-029
PROPOSED RULES
OFFICE OF
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
[Filed June 25, 2019, 8:40 a.m.]
Original Notice.
Title of Rule and Other Identifying Information: WAC 357-26-035 What actions must an employer take to provide reasonable pregnancy accommodations?
Hearing Location(s): On August 8, 2019, at 8:30 a.m., at the Office of Financial Management (OFM), Raad Building, 5th Floor, Room 512, 128 10th Avenue S.W., Olympia, WA 98501.
Date of Intended Adoption: August 15, 2019.
Submit Written Comments to: Caroline Kirk, OFM, P.O. Box 47500, Olympia, WA 98501, email caroline.kirk@ofm.wa.gov, fax 360-586-4694, by August 1, 2019.
Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact OFM, TTY 711 or 1-800-833-6384, by August 1, 2019.
Purpose of the Proposal and Its Anticipated Effects, Including Any Changes in Existing Rules: Chapter 134, Laws of 2019 (SHB 1930) was passed during the 2019 legislative session with an effective date of July 28, 2019. This bill adds the requirement for employers to provide reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for two years after the child's birth each time the employee has need to express the milk and providing a private location, other than a bathroom, if such a location exists at the place of business or worksite, which may be used by the employee to express breast milk.
Reasons Supporting Proposal: To align Title 357 WAC with the changes made to RCW
43.10.005 effective July 28, 2019.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: Chapter
43.01 RCW.
Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.
Name of Proponent: [OFM], governmental.
Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting, Implementation, and Enforcement: Caroline Kirk, 128 10th Avenue, Olympia, WA 98501, 360-407-4136.
A school district fiscal impact statement is not required under RCW
28A.305.135.
A cost-benefit analysis is not required under RCW
34.05.328. Rules are related to internal government operations and are not subject to violation by a nongovernmental party. See RCW
34.05.328 (5)(b)(ii) for exemption.
This rule proposal, or portions of the proposal, is exempt from requirements of the Regulatory Fairness Act because the proposal:
Is exempt under RCW
19.85.025(3) as the rules relate only to internal governmental operations that are not subject to violation by a nongovernment party.
June 25, 2019
Roselyn Marcus
Assistant Director of
Legal and Legislative Affairs
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 19-05-056, filed 2/15/19, effective 3/29/19)
WAC 357-26-035What actions must an employer take to provide reasonable pregnancy accommodations?
(1) An employer must provide employees who are pregnant or have a pregnancy-related health condition a reasonable pregnancy accommodation((, which includes the following:
(a) Providing more frequent, longer, or flexible restroom breaks;
(b) Modifying a no food or drink policy;
(c) Providing seating or allowing an employee to sit more frequently if the job requires standing;
(d) Job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position, or acquiring or modifying equipment, devices, or an employee's work station;
(e) Providing a temporary transfer to a less strenuous or less hazardous position;
(f) Providing assistance with manual labor and limits on lifting;
(g) Scheduling flexibility for prenatal visits; and
(h) Any further pregnancy accommodation an employee may request and to which an employer must give reasonable consideration in consultation with information provided on pregnancy accommodation by the department of labor and industries or the employee's attending health care provider))
for reasons as required in RCW 43.10.005.
(2) An employer cannot require an employee who is pregnant or has a pregnancy-related health condition to take leave if another reasonable pregnancy accommodation can be provided.
(3) The employer is not required to create additional employment that the employer would not otherwise have created, unless the employer does so or would do so for other classes of employees who need accommodation.