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Overview

This document provides support and guidance for our pregnant employees, outlining what they can expect from [COMPANY] during their pregnancy and transition to parental leave. Here you’ll find:

• A brief overview of your legal rights and protections
• Workplace accommodations including flexible scheduling, rest periods, and paid leave
• Internal community and helpful resources
• Optional timeline for communicating and preparing for your leave

Legal Entitlements

 ***Resource:** [EEOC Pregnancy Discrimination and Pregnancy-Related Disability Discrimination](<https://www.eeoc.gov/pregnancy-discrimination>)*

First, it’s important to understand your rights and protections as a pregnant employee. Pregnant workers are protected against discrimination via 3 laws:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibits pregnancy discrimination. Title VII protections can be based on a variety of different things like current pregnancy or contraception.
• Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant workers.
• Americans with Disabilities Act does not classify pregnancy itself as a disability, but does offer protections if you have a disability caused by being pregnant.

Note that it’s an ADA requirement that any medical information or documentation you share with the People Ops team is to be kept confidential and in a separate medical file.

Support and Benefits

Navigating pregnancy might conjure a bunch of different emotions. To help provide stability at work, [COMPANY] automatically offers the following to pregnant employees:

Flexible Schedule Doctor’s appointments and symptoms related to pregnancy might mean employees need flexibility in their schedule.

Breaks and Rest Periods Employees are free to take breaks and rest periods throughout the day as needed. When stepping away, communicate to your team members that you will be unavailable. 💡 Tip: If you need to provide timed guidelines for non-exempt employees, explicitly call out what is paid or unpaid, and what needs to be requested or scheduled.

On-site Accommodations An onsite wellness room is available to employees who are pregnant or lactating. For access and additional information, please contact the People Ops or Workplace team.

Asynchronous Work Practices If you miss a synchronous meeting, consider using an automated note taker, review any recordings and follow up with the team as needed.

Paid Leave Prior to Birth Pregnant employees will be granted an additional 4 weeks, or 160 hours, paid leave to accommodate various care needs, temporary illnesses or to prepare for the arrival of your new addition.

Additional Needs Every pregnancy experience is different and you may find these baseline offerings don’t meet your needs. For additional accommodations, please contact your People Ops team at (Insert People Ops Team info). 💡 Tip: Share your Reasonable Accommodation Process here!

Community

💡 Tip: Use this section to help your team come together and support one another. Have parents share resources, tips, or their knowledge. Consider creating an Employee Resource Group

Ever hear the phrase “It takes a village”? Check out the recommended resources from colleagues and join the #Parents slack channel.

Preparing for Leave

We hope this structure can help you share the news and feel well prepared to step away.

3 months prior

• [ ] Inform your Manager 3 months gives us enough time to ensure proper coverage.
• [ ] Discuss Transition Plan With your manager, align on key transition information like:
  • Anticipated due date / exit date
  • Key initiatives that will need to be covered
  • Internal or External resources that can help provide coverage
• 💡 Manager Tips!

2 months prior

• [ ] Share the news with your team If you haven’t already!
• [ ] Socialize your transition plan Start meeting with folks to share context and information
• [ ] Begin knowledge share Document key responsibilities and workflows

1 month prior

• [ ] Ensure transition docs are shared internally
• [ ] Communicate externally And hold transition meetings with clients where needed

2 weeks prior

• [ ] Hold synchronous transition meetings
• [ ] Request Parental Leave in (Insert HRIS)

1 week prior

• [ ] Meet with the team Continue to meet with folks you are transitioning to and share up to date info
• [ ] Have final manager 1:1 Schedule one last 1:1 with your manager Align on any communication norms or information sharing while you’re out
• [ ] Complete OOO Messaging Complete OOO messaging: Add an estimated return month and a point of contact while you are on leave. Meet with the person you are transitioning to for any final updates

Complications and Loss

We hope this is an exciting and joyous time in your life. Should you be faced with navigating turbulent times, [COMPANY] is here to support in the following ways:

Medical Care Travel Stipend To ensure our employees receive the medical care they need, regardless of state or local regulations, the company will provide a one-time travel stipend of $1,000 should the need arise.

Paid Leave Employees will be immediately approved for 5 consecutive days paid leave to recover from the loss of a pregnancy. More can be requested via (insert policy).

Additional Support 💡 Tip! Add Mental Health or Employee Wellness resources here. If you have an EAP, share that information too!

Questions & Support

If you have questions, need additional support, please reach out to:

[INSERT Contact Info]