No Desk Duty for You? What Florida Law Says About Denying Light Duty to Pregnant Employees
Picture a pregnant employee handed a doctor’s note that says, in plain terms, no lifting over twenty pounds for the next few months. She brings it to her employer expecting a temporary shuffle in job duties. Instead, she is told the company simply “does not do light duty,” and her choices are narrowed to working through the restriction or taking unpaid leave. For years, that response held up in far too many Florida workplaces. It does not hold up anymore. Our Palm Beach Gardens pregnancy discrimination attorneys see this scenario often, and the law has shifted decisively in favor of pregnant workers.
The Old Rule That Left Pregnant Workers Exposed
Before 2023, the main federal protection for pregnant employees was the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which required only that a pregnant worker be treated the same as a similarly situated non-pregnant employee with a comparable limitation. That sounds fair until you notice the loophole: if an employer denied light duty to everyone, regardless of pregnancy, it often faced no legal consequence for denying it to a pregnant employee either. Whether a worker received an accommodation could depend entirely on whether her employer happened to offer light duty to injured workers, an arrangement that left many pregnant employees without options.
The Law That Changed the Calculation
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, codified at 42 U.S.C. Section 2000gg and following, closed that loophole. Effective since June 2023, with the EEOC’s final regulations in force since June 18, 2024, the PWFA requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations for limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless doing so would cause undue hardship. Critically, this obligation does not depend on what the employer does for anyone else. Light duty is no longer a favor an employer may or may not extend; it is a legally recognized form of reasonable accommodation employers must genuinely consider.
What Counts as a Reasonable Accommodation
Under the EEOC’s regulations, reasonable accommodations can include temporary reassignment, modified schedules, part-time hours, closer parking, permission to sit or take extra breaks, and yes, light duty or a temporary suspension of certain physical job functions. An employer cannot simply declare that light duty positions “do not exist” and end the conversation there. The law requires a genuine interactive process, a back-and-forth conversation about what limitations exist and what accommodations might reasonably address them.
When a Denial Crosses the Legal Line
An employer that flatly refuses to engage in that process, that forces a pregnant employee onto unpaid leave when a reasonable accommodation was available, or that punishes an employee for asking in the first place, may be violating both the PWFA and the Florida Civil Rights Act, which independently prohibits pregnancy-based discrimination in Florida workplaces covered by the statute.
Contact Our Palm Beach Gardens Pregnancy Discrimination Attorneys
If your employer denied you light duty, pushed you toward unpaid leave, or treated your pregnancy as an inconvenience rather than a medical reality deserving accommodation, we want to hear about it. At Sconzo Law Office, we help pregnant employees throughout South Florida hold employers accountable under the PWFA and the FCRA. Contact our firm today to discuss what happened and what your options may be.
Source:
eeoc.gov/wysk/what-you-should-know-about-pregnant-workers-fairness-act