WSR 19-16-030
EMERGENCY RULES
OFFICE OF
FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
[Filed July 26, 2019, 5:02 p.m., effective July 28, 2019]
Effective Date of Rule: July 28, 2019.
Purpose: 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.
Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 357-26-035.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: Chapter 134, Laws of 2019.
Under RCW
34.05.350 the agency for good cause finds that state or federal law or federal rule or a federal deadline for state receipt of federal funds requires immediate adoption of a rule.
Reasons for this Finding: To align Title 357 WAC with the changes made to RCW
43.10.005 effective July 28, 2019.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: July 26, 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.