Two More Laws Added to Nevada’s Poster for Nursing Mothers and Victims of Domestic Violence

We recently reported that on June 2, 2017, Nevada passed the Pregnant Workers’ Fairness Act, a law that will go into effect on October 1, 2017. Some details of the law have been included below.

However, while we were updating our Nevada poster, the Office of the Labor Commissioner released workplace notices for two more new laws: The Nursing Mother’s Accommodation Act and An Act Pertaining to Domestic Violence. Those folks in Nevada are certainly keeping us on our toes!

We stopped the presses to accommodate these new laws on the poster, and we are in the process of getting the updated poster out to our customers as soon as possible.

Keep reading to find out what all employers need to know about these two new laws, as well as the Pregnant Workers’ Fairness Act.

Protections for Nursing Mothers

Under the Nursing Mother’s Accommodation Act, which went into effect on July 1, 2017, employers must provide nursing mothers who have a child under the age of 1 with a reasonable break time to express breast milk. This break may be provided with or without compensation.

Employers must also provide nursing mothers with a place to express breast milk—other than a bathroom—that is reasonably clean. This location must be free from dirt or pollution and be protected from the view of and intrusion by others.

The law also states that employers may not retaliate against employees for utilizing their rights under the law, including filing a complaint against an employer.

One more item to note is that employers with fewer than 50 employees are not subject to the requirements of this law if these requirements would impose an undue hardship on the employer in relation to the size, financial resources, nature, and structure of the employer’s business.

Benefits for Victims of Domestic Violence

An Act Pertaining to Domestic Violence will take effect on January 1, 2018. The new law provides employees who have been a victim of an act of domestic violence with up to 160 hours of paid or unpaid leave in a 12-month period. These benefits are available after 90 days of employment.

Leave may be used for an employee’s own or a family or household member’s diagnosis, care, and treatment for a health condition related to an act of domestic violence, as well as for participation in court proceedings and for establishing a safety plan related to the act. However, the benefits do not apply to a family or household member if the employee is the alleged perpetrator of the domestic violence.

The law defines a family or household member as a spouse, domestic partner, minor child, or parent or another adult who is either a blood relative of the employee or was living with the employee at the time of the act.

Last but certainly not least, employers may not retaliate against employees for using hours of leave, and may not require them to find a replacement worker as a condition of using the leave.

Protections for Pregnant Workers

The Nevada Pregnant Workers’ Fairness Act notice, issued by the Nevada Equal Rights Commission, states that employees have the right to be free from discriminatory or unlawful employment practices based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.

Under the Act, it is unlawful for employers to deny a reasonable accommodation to a female employee or applicant, upon request, for a condition related to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition—unless this would impose an undue hardship on the employer’s business.

In addition, employers may not take adverse employment actions against a female employee for requesting a reasonable accommodation, and employers may not deny an employment opportunity to a qualified female employee or applicant based on a need for a reasonable accommodation.

We Can Help You Stay in Compliance

If you order our 1-Year Compliance Plan, you will automatically receive the updated Nevada poster as soon as it becomes available. And because we provide free updates for mandatory changes, no matter how many occur during the year, you can count on us to keep you in compliance!