Request for remote work: What to expect when your employee is expecting

The COVID-19 pandemic opened the floodgates for requests to work remotely as a disability or pregnancy accommodation under state and federal law. Many employers have been unsure how to handle such requests, and there hasn’t been much guidance from the courts on the topic. But that’s changing. Here’s what one Illinois appellate court has to say on the topic, and it might not be what you were expecting.

Baby talk

Lara Stachler worked as a speech-language pathologist with the Chicago Public Schools (CPS). In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the schools to move to remote instruction. Stachler was pregnant at the time and worked remotely for the duration of the school year. She gave birth to her daughter in summer 2020 and was on maternity leave when the following school year began. When her maternity leave ended, the schools had returned to in-person classes.

Upon returning to work, Stachler made a number of requests for accommodations related to her childbirth. She asked for flexible work hours to accommodate the breaks she needed to express milk and permission to work remotely whenever her students were being taught remotely. CPS didn’t respond to those requests.