Pregnancy and COVID: Reasonable Accommodation in the Workplace

By Jack Tuckner, Esq.

Hello! Jack Tuckner again with the women’s rights in the workplace law firm, Tuckner, Sipser, Weinstock & Sipser. And in this continuing series of pregnancy and COVID and your rights in the workplace, I just wanted to highlight one thing today that it has long been known that pregnant women are at greater risk of developing a severe respiratory infection when a pregnant woman contracts a respiratory-based virus. Additionally, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists also states that pregnant women that contract a respiratory illness are at increased risk of severe morbidity and mortality as a result of being pregnant when contracting this illness as compared with non-pregnant persons.

So when you are concerned that your job may expose you or the commute to the job to greater risk of contracting the virus, in addition to any other limitations you may be experiencing during your pregnancy, you’re almost certainly entitled to a reasonable accommodation so-called in the workplace. Flexibility granted to you by your employer in various forms, additional leave, working from home, other arrangements that may ease your anxiety and make it safer for you and your unborn child to get through the pregnancy and continue staying gainfully employed. If you have any questions unique to your situation, please feel free to give me a call, I’m Jack Tuckner, or shoot us an email, and we’ll be happy to consult with you free of charge.