New Pregnancy Protections Regulations in the Workplace for 2023! How Should Employers Comply?

The U.S. Senate passed two acts that help working moms who are pregnant or breastfeeding. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (known as the PUMP Act) were added to the 2023 omnibus spending bill, which now passed the Senate and is headed for a House vote.

The PUMP Act

The PUMP Act for nursing mothers requires organizations to provide time and space for breastfeeding parents. The Affordable Care Act of 2010 already requires that employers provide reasonable time to express breast milk and provide a place for pumping, other than the bathroom, that is shielded from view and private.

Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

The second bill which helps mothers is the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act which requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for medical conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth. The law states that employers can’t deny employment opportunities based on these pregnancy accommodations, and they can’t “require employees to take paid or unpaid leave if another reasonable accommodation can be provided. ”The law will go into effect on June 27, 2023, and applies to private employers with 15 or more employees. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers to provide reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for their nursing child for one year after the child's birth each time such an employee has the need to express the milk. Employees are entitled to a place to pump at work, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public.

• Learn how the PUMP Act and Pregnant Workers Fairness Act help employees and have challenges for Employers.
• Learn what the requirements are for federal regulations and when they are effective.
• Learn how the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) reasonable accommodations plays a critical factor in both regulations.
• Learn what types of reasonable accommodation meet the guidelines and which will cause hardship.
• Learn the compensation factor of the time employees use for expressing milk according to the Department of Labor’s Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
• Learn if the FLSA requirements cover all employers.
• Learn how states are increasing their requirements for changes in federal requirements to provide expanded protections for employees.
• Learn how Employers need to make changes to employee handbooks and policies to comply with the new regulations.
• Learn how training managers and supervisors will help Employers comply with the new regulations. 

Employers should review their handbooks and other policies to ensure that they are updated to comply with these changes. In addition, employers should educate their supervisors and managers about the changes in the law to help avoid inadvertent missteps in the future.

• All Employers
• Business Owners
• Company Leadership
• Compliance professionals
• HR Professionals
• Managers/Supervisors
• Employers in all industries 

Margie Faulk is a senior level human resources professional with over 15 years of HR management and compliance experience. A current Compliance Advisor for HR Compliance Solutions, LLC, Margie, has worked as an HR Compliance advisor for major corporations and small businesses in the small, large, private, public and Non-profit sectors.  Margie has provided small to large businesses with risk management strategies that protect companies and reduces potential workplace fines and penalties from violation of employment regulations. Margie is bilingual (Spanish) fluent and Bi-cultural.

Margie’s area of expertise includes Criminal Background Screening Policies and auditing, I-9 document correction and storage compliance, Immigration compliance, employee handbook development, policy development, sexual harassment investigations/certified training, SOX regulations, payroll compliance, compliance consulting, monitoring US-based federal, state and local regulations, employee relations issues, internal investigations, HR management, compliance consulting, internal/external audits, and performance management.

Margie is a speaker and accomplished trainer and has created and presented compliance seminars/webinars for over 16 US and International compliance institutes. Margie has testified as a compliance subject matter expert (SME) for several regulatory agencies and against regulatory agencies, thank goodness not on the same day. Margie offers compliance training to HR professionals, business owners, and leadership to ensure compliance with workplace and regulations.

Margie’s unique training philosophy includes providing free customized tools for all attendees. These tools are customized and have been proven to be part an effective risk management strategy. Some of the customized tools include the I-9 Self Audit. Correction and Storage program, Ban the Box Decision Matrix Policy that Employers can provide in a dispute for allegations, Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) Compliance Guide, Drug-Free Workplace Volatile Termination E-Book and other compliance program tools when attendees register and attend Margie’s trainings.

Margie holds professional human resources certification (PHR) from the HR Certification Institution (HRCI) and SHRM-CP certification from the Society for Human Resources Management. Margie is a member of the Society of Corporate Compliance & Ethics (SCCE).