NJ Supreme Court offers guidance on expansive scope of Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

The New Jersey Supreme Court recently issued its first published decision addressing the New Jersey Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), the amendment to the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD) that protects pregnant and breastfeeding employees from workplace discrimination. In a 7-0 decision, the court articulated three separate claims for pregnant employees in the workplace. Employers must review not only their written policies but also undocumented, informal practices that directly and indirectly affect pregnant employees in the workplace.

Facts

The Township of Ocean maintained one light-duty policy for pregnant female police officers and a second one for all other officers seeking light duty. Both policies required employees to exhaust their paid time off (PTO). The township used a calculation, based on the employee’s anticipated return-to-work date, when applying PTO.

The maternity light-duty policy required an anticipated return-to-work date within 45 days after the birth of a child, while the general light-duty policy contained no time limitations for the anticipated return-to-work date. Also, while both policies required employees to exhaust all of their PTO, the township could waive the requirement only for nonpregnant employees.

Kathleen Delanoy, a pregnant female police officer, challenged the policy as unlawfully discriminatory against pregnant employees. The trial court granted summary judgment (dismissal without a trial) in the township's favor, finding the maternity light-duty policy didn’t violate the PWFA’s equal treatment mandate.