HCS/341 Week 2: Employment Law Applied to a Staffing Scenario, sample paper

A Sonographer at 22 Weeks Asks to Stop Lifting: Applying the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, the ADA and the FMLA to One Accommodation Request

[Student Name]

University of Phoenix

HCS/341: Human Resources in Health Care

Week 2 Assignment

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

The imaging center, employee and request are a composite written for a model paper.

A composite outpatient imaging center, part of a regional health system with about 3,400 employees, employs nine diagnostic medical sonographers. One of them, who has worked there for four years, gave her manager a note from her obstetrician: at 22 weeks of pregnancy, she should not lift more than 20 pounds and should not stand for more than two hours without a break, for the rest of the pregnancy. The job description says sonographers must help transfer patients, push portable ultrasound machines to inpatient units and stand for most of each shift. The manager's first response was to call HR and ask whether the sonographer could be placed on family leave until she delivered. The manager meant well, but sending a willing employee home when she could keep working with changes is exactly what the newest federal pregnancy law forbids. This paper applies the relevant laws and describes the correct response.

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, in effect since June 2023, is the first law to look at when a pregnant employee asks for changes at work. It applies to employers with 15 or more employees and requires them to make reasonable accommodations for the known limitations of a qualified employee related to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the business (Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, 2022). A limitation does not need to rise to the level of a disability; a lifting restriction during pregnancy is enough.

Three provisions matter directly here. First, the employer may not require the employee to accept an accommodation that was not arrived at through an interactive process with her. Second, the employer may not require her to take leave, paid or unpaid, if another reasonable accommodation would allow her to keep working. Third, an employee can still be qualified even if she temporarily cannot perform an essential function, if the inability is temporary, she could perform the function again in the near future and the inability can be reasonably accommodated. The regulation issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Implementation of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, explains that temporarily suspending an essential function is one possible accommodation.

The manager's plan would have violated the second provision: it imposed leave without exploring any accommodation.

The Interactive Process

HR met with the sonographer and her manager within three days. The purpose of the meeting was to understand her limitations and the job's demands and to find changes that would let her keep working. The discussion covered each task that her restrictions affected.

Patient transfers: sonographers helped move patients from wheelchairs or stretchers to the exam table. The center already had a ceiling lift in two of its four rooms and transport aides on day shift; scheduling her in rooms with lifts and calling an aide for any transfer would remove the lifting.

Portable exams: pushing portable machines to inpatient units, about four times a week for her, involved heavy equipment and long periods of standing at bedsides. The other eight sonographers agreed to cover her portable exams temporarily, a small shift in workload spread across the team.

Standing: most outpatient exams can be done seated with an adjustable stool. She could also take a five-minute break every two hours, scheduled into her exam template.

Documentation: the obstetrician's note already stated the limitation and its duration. Under the regulation, employers may ask for supporting documentation only when it is reasonable to do so, and requiring more here would have added nothing.

Undue Hardship

Undue hardship means significant difficulty or expense considering the employer's size, resources and operations. Covering about four portable exams a week among eight colleagues, adjusting room assignments and buying one ergonomic stool did not approach that standard for a large health system. HR documented the analysis so that the decision would be clear if questioned later (Fried & Fottler, 2018).

The ADA

The Americans with Disabilities Act requires reasonable accommodation for qualified employees with disabilities. A normal pregnancy is not a disability under the ADA, but complications such as gestational diabetes, preeclampsia or severe back pain may qualify. HR noted that if a complication developed, the sonographer's request could also be evaluated under the ADA, and that the accommodation process would be similar. The ADA also protects her from being regarded as disabled simply because she is pregnant.

The FMLA

The Family and Medical Leave Act gives eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave a year for qualifying reasons, including incapacity due to pregnancy, prenatal care and the birth and care of a newborn. Eligibility requires 12 months of employment and at least 1,250 hours worked in the past year at a worksite with 50 or more employees within 75 miles. The sonographer meets these requirements.

The FMLA does not become the answer to her current restrictions, because she is able to work with accommodations. It becomes relevant in three ways: leave for prenatal appointments, which may be taken intermittently; leave if her physician later determines she cannot work; and leave after delivery. HR explained these rights to her in writing so that she could plan, and it noted that any FMLA leave she used before delivery would reduce the time available afterward.

The Accommodation Plan

The written plan, signed by the sonographer, her manager and HR, listed the accommodations: scheduling in rooms with ceiling lifts; transport aide assistance for all transfers; temporary reassignment of portable exams; an adjustable stool; and a five-minute break every two hours. It stated that the plan would be reviewed monthly or sooner if her restrictions changed. HR also reminded the manager that the sonographer could not be penalized for requesting accommodation, since retaliation is prohibited under all three laws.

Lessons for Health Care Managers

Health care jobs often involve lifting, standing and exposure to hazards, so pregnancy accommodation requests will be common. Managers' instinct to protect employees by sending them home can create legal risk and cost the organization skilled staff. HR should train managers to call HR when an employee asks for changes, to avoid assuming what the employee can or cannot do and to focus on the tasks rather than the condition.

Conclusion

The manager's plan to place a pregnant sonographer on leave would have violated the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which prohibits requiring leave when other reasonable accommodations would allow an employee to work. An interactive process identified simple accommodations that posed no undue hardship. The ADA would apply if complications developed, and the FMLA protects leave for prenatal care and after delivery. Applying the laws in order, and documenting each step, protected both the employee and the organization.

References

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq. (1990).

Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq. (1993).

Fried, B. J., & Fottler, M. D. (Eds.). (2018). Fundamentals of human resources in healthcare (2nd ed.). Health Administration Press.

Implementation of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, 89 Fed. Reg. 29096 (April 19, 2024) (codified at 29 C.F.R. pt. 1636).

Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000gg et seq. (2022).