Pregnancy Accommodations: New Jersey

This Pregnancy Accommodations policy applies to employees in New Jersey under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (N.J.S.A. 10:5-12) and related state guidance, and it explains how your organization will provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions through a timely, good-faith interactive process, without discrimination or retaliation. It also helps set clear expectations around common accommodations, like additional breaks, schedule or job modifications, temporary transfers, and access to a private space (not a bathroom stall) to express breast milk, while recognizing that accommodations may be denied only when they'd create an undue hardship.

The History Behind Pregnancy Accommodations Policies in New Jersey

This Pregnancy Accommodations policy sits in the Workplace Accommodations topic. The backbone is the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD), which has barred discrimination based on sex and pregnancy and has required employers to take accommodation requests seriously when they relate to an employee's health, safety, or ability to do the job.

The big shift for many employers came when New Jersey made the expectation explicit: pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions can require reasonable accommodations, and employers need to engage in a real back-and-forth to figure out what works. That change also put breastfeeding and expressing milk squarely on the accommodation map, not as a perk, but as a workplace need that often requires something concrete, like break time and a private space near the work area (not a bathroom stall). The law kept the familiar guardrails too, accommodations are required unless they create an undue hardship, and retaliation for asking is off-limits. (For the statutory framework, see NJLAD at N.J. Stat. Ann. 10:5-12.)

More recently, federal law caught up with a similar idea through the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which pushed pregnancy accommodations into the national spotlight and made "interactive process" language feel a lot less optional. For New Jersey employers, the practical takeaway is simple even if the administration isn't: you often have overlapping rules, and you need a process that can handle real-life requests quickly, without turning every conversation into a courtroom brief.

Which Law is the Pregnancy Accommodations Policy Meant to Comply With?

If you create and distribute a Pregnancy Accommodations Policy for your New Jersey-based employees, it is in an effort to comply with New Jersey's New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (N.J.S.A. 10:5-12).

How to Write a New Jersey-Specific Pregnancy Accommodations Policy

• Start with "why" and introduce the concept, pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions may require reasonable accommodations to support employee health and safety without creating undue hardship.
• Define the types of pregnancy-related needs your policy covers, including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, recovery, and related physical or mental medical conditions.
• List common accommodation options, such as additional breaks, help with manual tasks, job or schedule changes, temporary transfers, and a private space near the work area to express breast milk.
• Explain how employees request an accommodation and that you'll use an interactive process to understand needs and identify workable solutions.
• Clarify that accommodations can be temporary or permanent based on the employee's needs and role.
• State a clear non-discrimination and anti-retaliation commitment tied to requesting, using, or participating in the accommodation process.
• Address how you'll handle overlapping legal requirements by applying the standard that provides the greatest benefit to employees.

When to Include this Policy in Your Employee Handbook

If you have employees in New Jersey and you don't have a similar policy that's available for all US employees, you should include this policy in your employee handbook for New Jersey-based employees. 

The law states: 

"An employer subject to this section shall conspicuously post a notice of employee rights under this section in a place normally reserved for employment-related notices and in a place commonly frequented by employees." (N.J. Stat. Ann. § 10:5-12, as published in the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination)

Your employee handbook qualifies. 

Other Considerations

The law applies to New Jersey employers who have at least 1 employee in the US.

Exceptions

None.