This following content was originally sent to CU Boulder employees via Administrative eMemo on Dec. 8, 2016.
CU Boulder is firmly committed to protecting the rights of expectant mothers and complying with Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978. CU Boulder's policy is to treat employees affected by pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions in the same manner as other employees unable to work because of their physical condition in all employment aspects, including recruitment, hiring, training, promotion and benefits.听
Effective August 10, 2016, Colorado signed into law which requires Colorado employers to engage in an interactive process to assess potential reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees for conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth. To start the interactive process, please contact ADA Compliance at 303-492-9725 or adacoordinator@colorado.edu
The new law,听section 24-34-402.3 of the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act,听also prohibits employers from denying employment opportunities based on the need to make a pregnancy-related reasonable accommodation and from retaliating against employees and applicants that request or use a pregnancy-related accommodation. Examples of accommodations include, but are not limited to, more frequent or longer break periods; more frequent restroom, food or water breaks; acquisition or modification of equipment or seating; limitations on lifting; temporary transfer to a less strenuous or hazardous position if available, with return to the current position after pregnancy; job restructuring; light duty, if available听or assistance with manual labor.
Further, CU Boulder fully recognizes eligible employees' rights and responsibilities under the听, applicable state and local family-leave laws听and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Paid leave may be substituted for unpaid maternity leave in accordance with CU Boulder's paid-leave substitution provisions of CU Boulder's FMLA policy.
Pregnant employees may continue to work until they are certified as unable to work by their physician. At that point, pregnant employees are entitled to receive benefits according to CU Boulder's short-term disability insurance plan (if applicable). Finally, when an employee returns to work, she is entitled to return to the same or equivalent job with no loss of service or other rights or privileges.听
Thank you for partnering with us to ensure equal employment opportunities for pregnant employees. For more information, the Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance and Employee Relations will be offering training in spring 2017.听
For assistance with pregnancy related adjustments for students, please contact Disability Services at 303-492-8671 or dsinfo@colorado.edu.
For any claim of pregnancy related discrimination, please contact the Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance at 303-492-2127 or cureport@colorado.edu.