In August, HRInformant blogged on the progress of proposed amendments to California’s pregnancy regulations and disability discrimination regulations. California’s Fair Employment and Housing Commission (FEHC) completed its changes to the regulations.
The FEHC filed the changes with the Office of Administrative Law (OAL), which can take up to 30 working days to accept or reject the proposed changes to the regulations. The deadline for the OAL to respond to the disability discrimination regulations is November 27, 2012, and the deadline to decide on the pregnancy disability regulations is November 30, 2012.
If the OAL does approve the proposed regulations, the new regulations will be filed with the Secretary of State and become effective in 30 days. If the OAL does not approve the proposed changes, the changes would be sent back to the FEHC for revision and a new notice to the public.
The proposed changes to pregnancy disability leave (PDL) regulations include:
- A change to the definition of “four months.”
- Expanded definition of when a woman is “disabled by pregnancy.”
- Necessary changes to Notices “A” and “B,” which provide information for employees about their rights and responsibilities under pregnancy disability leave (Notice “A”) and the California Family Rights Act (Notice “B”).
The proposed changes to the disability regulations include:
- Expanding the definitions of “mental” and “physical” disability.
- Clarification of what evidence might be used to show that a particular function is “essential” to a job.
- A description of the interactive process and obligations of the employer, and the applicant
HR Informant will provide up-to-date information when the OAL reaches a decision.
Author: HR Watchdog, HRCalifornia’s Employment Law Blog, © California Chamber of Commerce