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What About Everyone Else? Could Paid Maternity Leave Become a Reasonable Accommodation Under the ADA?

By Joseph S. Murray IV

Increasingly, employers are considering offering paid parental leave benefits due to pressures from a changing workforce (Millennials, state and local governments, and even, surprisingly, the current Administration). One policy option is to provide paid maternity leave for new mothers to recuperate from childbirth. Numerous discussions on the legality of maternity-only leave policies have led to the consensus that maternity leave linked to the mother’s recovery does not violate Title VII. See, e.g., EEOC Enforcement Guidance on Pregnancy Discrimination and Related Issues (June 25, 2015). But do such policies raise the possibility of paid leave as a reasonable accommodation for a qualified individual with a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended (ADA)?

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