Regulators are sending a clear message: employers must be proactive when it comes to ADA, FMLA, and PWFA compliance. Recent EEOC enforcement actions highlight common missteps, including:
- Forcing pregnant employees to take leave instead of exploring alternative accommodations under the PWFA.
- Failing to extend leave as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA when an employee’s medical needs continued beyond their FMLA entitlement.
- Skipping the interactive process and making assumptions about what an employee can or cannot do.
Lesson learned: Compliance is about more than paperwork. Employers need clear policies, well-trained managers, and documented processes to ensure that accommodations and leave requests are handled fairly and lawfully.
Practical step forward: Regularly audit your leave management policies, update them to reflect PWFA requirements, and train supervisors on how to properly respond to accommodation and leave requests.