• Accommodations that are presumed reasonable

Washington’s Healthy Starts Act (HSA) requires the District to provide the following reasonable workplace accommodations regardless of any hardship the District may perceive and prohibits the District from asking for written certification from a health care provider for the following:

• Providing more frequent, longer, or flexible restroom breaks;
• Modifying a no food or drink policy;
• Allowing breaks, as needed, to eat and drink;
• Carrying water and drinking, as needed;
• Seating or allowing the employee to sit more frequently if their job requires them to stand; and
• Limits on lifting over 17 pounds.

• Workplace accommodations upon request and factors considered

The District must make other reasonable modifications to its policies, practices, or procedures as necessary to prevent sex discrimination and ensure equal access to the District’s education program or activity. The District will not deny a request for a reasonable workplace accommodation for an employee for pregnancy unless an undue hardship can be shown.

Each reasonable workplace accommodation must be based on the employee’s individual needs. In determining what reasonable workplace accommodations are required under this paragraph, the District must consult with the employee through the interactive process. The employee has the discretion to accept or decline each reasonable workplace accommodation offered by the District. If an employee accepts a District’s offered reasonable workplace accommodation, the District must implement it. The employee is still required to complete the essential functions of the job position they hold with or without accommodation.

The HSA deems the following to be reasonable workplace accommodations which must be provided if there is no significant difficulty or expense to the District:

• Job restructuring, part-time or modified work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position, or acquiring or modifying equipment, devices, or an employee’s work station;
• Providing for a temporary transfer to a less strenuous or less hazardous position;
• Providing assistance with manual labor and limits on lifting that are less than 17 pounds;
• Scheduling flexibility for prenatal visits;
• Providing reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for two years after the child’s birth each time the employee has need to express the milk and providing a private location, other than a bathroom, if such a location exists at the worksite, which may be used by the employee to express breast milk. If the worksite does not have a space for the employee to express milk, the District shall work with the employee to identify a convenient location and work schedule to accommodate their needs; and
• Any further pregnancy-related workplace accommodation an employee may request in consultation with information provided on pregnancy accommodation by the Department of Labor and Industries or the treating health care provider of the employee.

The District does not have to create additional or other job positions that it would not otherwise have created unless the District does so or would do so for other classes of employees who need workplace accommodation for any temporary medical condition. This includes no “light duty” or “modified duty” positions or job responsibilities as a workplace accommodation. Further, the District is not required to discharge any employee, transfer any employee with more seniority, or promote any employee who is not qualified to perform the job, unless the employer does so or would do so to accommodate other classes of employees who need workplace accommodation for any temporary medical condition.

• Space or Location for Lactation

The District must ensure that an employee has access to a space or location for lactation purposes. The space must be somewhere other than a bathroom, if such a location exists at the place of business or worksite, which is clean, shielded from view, free from intrusion from others, and may be used by an employee for expressing breast milk or breastfeeding as needed.

e. Written Certification from Health Care Provider

The District may request that the employee provide written certification from the employee’s treating health care professional regarding the need for reasonable workplace accommodation. The District may not, however, request written certification for those workplace accommodations presumed reasonable as provided in the HSA and for reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk as described in the HSA. The final rule for the PWFA further limits when and how the District can seek supporting documentation from the treating health care professional.

The District is not required to request medical documentation in instances when the person’s limitation or need for a workplace accommodation is obvious. However, the District may request and review medical documentation to support a workplace accommodation request under reasonable circumstances. The documentation requested must be the minimum sufficient to confirm the limitation. When medical documentation is provided, the District must give reasonable consideration in consultation with information provided on pregnancy accommodation by the Department of Labor and Industries or the treating health care provider of the employee.

The District shall keep all medical records confidential and maintained in a separate location from the employee’s personnel file.

f. Voluntary Leaves of Absence

The District must allow leaves of absence for pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions. However, state and federal laws prohibit the District from requiring an employee to take leave if another reasonable workplace accommodation can be provided for the employee’s pregnancy or pregnancy-related condition.

Requirements for employee leave of absence are provided in Board Policy No. 5400, Leaves; applicable collective bargaining agreements; and the management compensation bulletin for non-represented employees.

III. Discrimination and Retaliation Prohibited

State and federal laws and District policy strictly prohibit retaliation against pregnant and nursing employees who request workplace accommodations. The District and its employees are prohibited from retaliating against pregnant or nursing employees who request a workplace accommodation, from denying employment opportunities to pregnant or nursing employees if the denial is based on the employer’s need to make reasonable workplace accommodation required by RCW 43.10.005(1)(c), or from requiring pregnant or nursing employees to take leave of absence if another reasonable workplace accommodation can be provided.

Board Policy No. 5245, Anti-Retaliation, and the corresponding Superintendent Procedure, provide additional information about the District’s prohibition of and response to reports or complaints alleging retaliation.

IV. Process for Addressing Complaints

The District has adopted Superintendent Procedure 5010SP.A, Employment Discrimination Complaint Process, to set forth the process for resolving discrimination complaints submitted by a District employee.

Superintendent Procedure 5010SP.A is designed to provide for a prompt, thorough, and equitable review of complaints alleging discrimination, and requires the District to take appropriate steps to resolve such situations. If sex-based discrimination or retaliation is found to have occurred based on findings of a District investigation, the District must take immediate action to eliminate the discrimination or retaliation, prevent its reoccurrence, and address its effects.

For employee complaints of alleged employment discrimination, contact Labor & Employee Relations staff by phone at 206-252-0315, by email at HREEOC@seattleschools.org or by mail at Seattle Public Schools, MS 33-157, P.O. Box 34165, Seattle, WA 98124-1166.

V. Additional Complaint Options

• Office of the Washington State Attorney General: Any employee or prospective employee may report violations of this procedure by contacting the Office of the Washington State Attorney General, Civil Rights Division.
  • Email: pregnancy@atg.wa.gov
  • Phone Message: (833) 660-4877
  • Online Complaint Form: https://fortress.wa.gov/atg/formhandler/ago/PregnancyAccommodationsComplaintForm.aspx

• Washington State Human Rights Commission (WSHRC): WSHRC enforces the Washington Law Against Discrimination (RCW 49.60), which prohibits discrimination in employment and places of public accommodation, including schools. File complaints with WSHRC within six months of the date of the alleged discrimination.
  • Phone: 1-800-233-3247
  • TTY: 1-800-300-7525
  • Website: www.hum.wa.gov

• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC): EEOC enforces Federal laws that prohibit discrimination in employment.
  • Email:  info@eeoc.gov
  • EEOC Public Portal: https://publicportal.eeoc.gov/Portal/Login.aspx

VI. Distribution of Procedure and Acknowledgement of Employee Responsibilities

The District shall distribute this procedure to all employees annually and to each newly hired employee within 10 business days of commencing employment.

It is particularly important for Human Resources employees, school administrators, and supervisors to understand this procedure and the laws that govern workplace pregnancy accommodations. Applicable state laws include, but are not limited to:

• Washington’s Healthy Starts Act (RCW 43.10.005)
• Washington Law Against Discrimination (RCW 49.60.030 and RCW 49.60.180)

VII. Training for Human Resources Employees, School Administrators, and Supervisors

The District shall provide pregnancy accommodation training annually to all Human Resources employees, school administrators, and supervisors regarding their obligations under this procedure and applicable laws. The training shall be aimed toward helping attendees understand the process to review, respond, and analyze each request for a reasonable workplace accommodation, including workplace accommodation requests for pregnancy or pregnancy-related conditions.

• Training Content

The training shall include, at a minimum:

• An overview of the Washington State Laws governing pregnancy accommodation and sex and pregnancy discrimination.
• An admonition that retaliation against an applicant or employee who requests an accommodation or complains of discrimination is prohibited.
• Instruction on this Pregnancy Accommodation Procedure.
• A discussion of various forms of reasonable accommodations identified in the HSA including the accommodations that must be granted in Washington, and the accommodations for which the District cannot request written certification from a treating health care professional.
• The presentation of specific scenarios tailored to the workplace.

VIII. Additional Resources

• Seattle Public Schools
  • Contact for Pregnancy or Pregnancy-Related  Workplace Accommodations: WorkplaceAccommodation@seattleschools.org
  • Labor & Employee Relations staff: LaborRelations@seattleschools.org
• Washington State Department of Labor and Industries: Workplace Pregnancy Accommodations Information
• Washington State Attorney General’s Office: Pregnancy Accommodations Guide for Employees and Employers
• Washington’s Healthy Starts Act: RCW 43.10.005
• Washington State Human Rights Commission: www.hum.wa.gov
• Washington Law Against Discrimination:
  • RCW 49.60.030 Freedom from discrimination—Declaration of civil rights.
  • RCW 49.60.180 Unfair practices of employers.
• U.S. Department of Labor: FLSA Protections to Pump at Work
• Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA): 42 U.S.C. 2000gg
• Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
  • Final rule and interpretive guidance to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
  • What You Should Know About the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
  • Time and Place to Pump at Work: Your Rights

IX. Distribution of and Updates to this Procedure

The District shall publish this procedure in any physical copies of handbooks or policy manuals given to employees and shall ensure that this procedure is available on any internal Human Resources webpages and prominently displayed in or around designated lactation spaces.

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Policy Cross References:

• 5010 – Nondiscrimination and Affirmative Action
• 5011 – Sexual Harassment of District Staff Prohibited
• 5245 – Anti-Retaliation
• 5400 – Leaves

Revisions:

Adopted:

• November 25, 2025