Effective upon passage of the bill on May 17, 2018, South Carolina employers must provide new employees with written notice of their “right to be free from discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions.” Employers have until September 14, 2018, to issue the same notice to existing employees. This new notice requirement comes as part of South Carolina’s recently enacted Pregnancy Accommodations Act, which amended the state’s Human Affairs Law and largely tracks existing federal anti-discrimination laws. Until the South Carolina Human Affairs Commission issues guidelines for the written notice requirement, SC employers (and employers with workers based in the state), should (1) revise their existing EEO statement and policy to expressly include “on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, including, but not limited to, lactation” and (2) post the revised policy in established posting areas for existing employees. Employers should also take this opportunity to review existing policies and practices to ensure that accommodations required by the Act are being made available (e.g., allowing more frequent bathroom or food breaks, permitting coworkers to assist with heavy lifting, providing a stool to sit on rather than standing for hours at a time). To learn more, read the Act here. If you have questions about the new Act and how it impacts your existing policies, please contact Gardner Skelton PLLC for assistance.
