After a law for pregnant workers quietly passed in 2020, advocates turn to education
An opportunity to sit. A water bottle and snack. A limit on heavy lifting. A schedule that allows for doctor’s visits. These are among the accommodations pregnant women in Tennessee can request and receive without fearing repercussions under a new Tennessee law that went into effect in October.
Many pregnant workers are unaware of these new workplace rights. With women increasingly dropping out of the workforce amid the COVID-19 pandemic and with studies indicating heightened COVID-19 risks for pregnant women, advocates for the Tennessee Pregnant Workers Fairness Act have shifted their focus to education to help ensure pregnant women can stay healthy and employed.
“Pregnant workers and employers across the state really need to know about this vitally important protection,” said Elizabeth Gedmark, who leads the Nashville office for national nonprofit advocacy organization A Better Balance. “We really want to make sure people are able to keep their jobs and that pregnancy is not a roadblock to them staying in the labor force and getting their paychecks and keeping their benefits when their families need it the most.”
Since 2015, Gedmark and other advocates for pregnant women in the workplace have fought for new protections from the Tennessee legislature that have been approved in 29 other states. In June, when much of the state’s focus was on navigating COVID-19, Tennessee lawmakers approved the measure unanimously and it was signed into law in July.
Read more: https://tennesseelookout.com/2021/01/26/after-a-law-for-pregnant-workers-quietly-passed-in-2020-advocates-turn-to-education/