A Guide To Maternity Leave Laws In Ohio

Pregnant women have the right to take maternity leave to prepare the birth process and take care of their newborn baby. If certain companies do not offer this opportunity for their employees, it can be considered as pregnancy discrimination and it is possible for the employees to file the lawsuit for that. Pregnancy discrimination is illegal. Even though the law already makes the firm statement about this issue, in fact there are many employers who still violate the regulation. The laws related to Maternity leave are different from one state to another. If you are living in Ohio area, you should understand maternity leave laws in Ohio.

You can see that ORCR or the Ohio Civil Rights Commission gives the approval for significant amendments to the administrative regulations governing pregnancy discrimination. The law statement is Ohio Adm. Code 4112-5-05. In the previous regulation, the rule stated that the rule required employers to provide the leave for pregnancy and childbirth purpose for reasonable time period. Even so, the rule did not explain in detail related to the meaning of reasonable period of time. Due to this reason, each employer had various interpretations related to maternity leave laws in Ohio.

ohio maternity leave plan a guide to maternity leave laws in ohio

Maternity Leave Laws In Ohio Aspect

According to the amended version, the employers must provide 12 weeks minimally for maternity leave. The maternity leave is used for pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions. When the maternity leave ends, the employee is allowed to reinstatement to their original position or to position of like status and pay. The employees who take maternity leave should not experience any loss for service credits and other benefits.

The new maternity leave laws in Ohio needs some employers to make revision to their maternity leave policies if the current policy requires the employers to provide for less than 12 weeks for maternity leave. According to maternity leave laws in Ohio, providing less than 12 weeks of leave can be presumed to constitute mating discrimination under Ohio law. The only exception is justified by business necessity.

Another important aspect which is available in the amended regulation of maternity leave in Ohio is the requirement of the employers to treat the pregnant employees with the same treatment with other employees who have the limitation in their working ability without regarding to the nature of medical condition, the length of the service from their employees, or if the injury occurred on the job. It can be seen many employers provide light duty to the employees who are injured on the job to mitigate worker’s compensation liability.

The current maternity leave laws in Ohio require the employers to provide light-duty positions and revised the work programs for the employees who are injured on the job. The employers must provide this chance for pregnant employees who are have limitation in their working ability.

It can be seen that maternity leave laws in Ohio gives better protection to Ohio employees than the protection given by the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act or FMLA. The Ohio rule can be applied to the employers who are hiring four or more people within the state. It is quite different FMLA which can be applied only to the employers who are hiring 50 or more employees. As the addition, the regulation does not need any eligibility requirements on employees. It is different with FMLA which demands the employees must work for one year or 1,250 hours length of service requirement before they are eligible for the maternity leave.

Not only that, but employers are forbidden to discriminate the pregnant applicant related to the fact that they might take the maternity leave soon. The maternity leave laws in Ohio need the employers subject to Ohio and FMLA regulations to offer more than 24 weeks of leave. By using FMLA, an employer will be able to count time which is taken under the maternity leave laws in Ohio simultaneously with time taken under FMLA. It is different with FMLA since the maternity leave laws in Ohio include the context of mating discrimination. However, the rights for the leave will not extend to fathers.

By using maternity leave, pregnant women will be able to prepare their childbirth process and take care of their baby. Many women employees are also using the maternity leave to prepare all the things they need to leave their children when they are continuing to work. The process is including finding the caretakers and breastfeeding process. Due to this reason, the maternity leave laws in Ohio are important to protect the employees.

 

References:

  • Employment Alert: Ohio Now Requires 12 Weeks of Maternity leave. thompsonhine.com/publications/publication1251.html
  • Images: adrianfaubel.com

Article publié pour la première fois le 01/10/2015