RHODE ISLAND: MENOPAUSE ACCOMMODATIONS ALREADY REQUIRED
Rhode Island is currently among the clearest examples of an express menopause-related workplace accommodation mandate.
Effective June 24, 2025, Rhode Island amended its Fair Employment Practices Act to make it an unlawful employment practice for a covered employer to refuse to reasonably accommodate an employee’s or prospective employee’s condition related to pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, or a related medical condition, unless the employer demonstrates that the accommodation would impose an undue hardship. The amendment specifically encompasses menopause-related conditions, including management of vasomotor symptoms (hot flashes).
Potential reasonable accommodations under the statute include more frequent or longer breaks, modified equipment or seating, temporary transfers, job restructuring, light duty, assistance with manual labor, and modified work schedules.
The law also requires employers to provide written notice that should be conspicuously posted and inform employees of the right to be free from discrimination in relation to menopause and related conditions, including their right to reasonable accommodation.
For employers operating in Rhode Island, menopause-related requests should therefore be incorporated directly into existing reasonable accommodation and interactive process procedures.
PHILADELPHIA: EXPRESS ACCOMMODATION REQUIREMENT EFFECTIVE JANUARY 1, 2027
Philadelphia has enacted a local ordinance that will expressly require employers to accommodate certain needs associated with menstruation, perimenopause, and menopause.
Bill No. 250849 amends the Philadelphia Fair Practices Ordinance to make menstruation, perimenopause, and menopause expressly protected characteristics and to require reasonable accommodations for such conditions where symptoms substantially interfere with an employee’s ability to perform one or more job functions, provided the employee requests an accommodation and the accommodation does not impose an undue hardship.
The ordinance takes effect January 1, 2027.
Philadelphia employers should therefore review accommodation procedures before year-end, including procedures for handling requests involving temperature, scheduling, breaks, restroom access, clothing changes, or other workplace modifications related to menopause symptoms.
ILLINOIS: MENOPAUSE ACCOMMODATION LANGUAGE TAKES EFFECT JANUARY 1, 2027
Illinois enacted the Illinois Menopause Equity and Care Act, Public Act 104-0793, in 2026. In part, the legislation expressly defines “menopause-related condition” to include perimenopause, menopause, and associated medical or symptomatic conditions, including vasomotor symptoms, sleep disruption, cognitive or mood changes, and osteoporosis-related changes. The act also amends the Illinois Human Rights Act’s definition of pregnancy to include menopause-related conditions.
Significantly for employers, the legislation requires the statutory workplace notice to inform employees of the right to reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, including reasonable accommodations for menopause-related conditions.
The amendments also expand examples of workplace accommodations within the relevant accommodation framework, including flexible schedules or modified work hours and temperature- or climate-adjusted workspaces. Although earlier proposals would have created a more explicit independent violation for refusing to accommodate menopause-related conditions, this amendment instead incorporates menopause-related conditions into existing Illinois Human Rights Act concepts.
These changes become effective January 1, 2027.
THE EMERGING COMPLIANCE LANDSCAPE
The following jurisdictions are currently considering similar legislation concerning menopause-related conditions:
- Federal: Nationwide menopause reasonable accommodation framework. See H.R. 9671.
- Massachusetts: Menopause/perimenopause workplace protections and accommodation-related requirements. See Massachusetts H.5303.
- New York: Express reasonable accommodation plus notice/posting obligations. See New York S.10265/A.5436.
- New Jersey: Express anti-discrimination protection; no standalone menopause accommodation mandate in current bill. See New Jersey S.3779.
- North Carolina: Express reasonable accommodation and retaliation protections. See North Carolina S.B. 912.
- Pennsylvania: Express reasonable-accommodation legislation.See Pennsylvania H.B. 2135.
In California, pending legislation was vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom in September 2026, but a revised version of the bill may resurface. Furthermore, pending legislation in Maryland stalled out of session but may be revived in a new legislative session.
WHAT EMPLOYERS SHOULD DO NOW
Review Accommodation Policies
Employers, particularly those with multistate operations, should consider whether existing reasonable accommodation policies are sufficiently broad to address menopause-related conditions.
Policies drafted primarily around traditional disability or pregnancy terminology may require revisions as more jurisdictions begin to expressly recognize menopause-related accommodation rights.
Train Managers and Human Resources Personnel
In addition to training managers to recognize and understand that menopause and related conditions like perimenopause may require an accommodation, employers should remind managers that employees generally need not use particular legal terminology to raise an accommodation issue. Managers also should be trained to refer accommodation requests to the appropriate personnel rather than making independent medical or legal judgments.
Prepare for Common Workplace Modifications
The enacted and proposed measures repeatedly identify relatively conventional accommodations, such as the following:
- Flexible or modified schedules
- Additional or longer breaks
- Temperature or climate adjustments
- Fans or other cooling measures
- Access to drinking water
- Restroom access
- Modified uniforms or dress codes
- Seating modifications
- Temporary changes in duties or physical demands
- Job restructuring
- Remote work
- Time off
Whether a particular accommodation is reasonable remains dependent on the applicable statute, the employee’s circumstances, the essential functions of the position, and any applicable undue hardship standard.
Review Posting and Notice Obligations
Multiple jurisdictions impose employee notice obligations. For example, Rhode Island’s legislation imposes such obligations, Philadelphia’s ordinance incorporates menopause into the city’s Fair Practices framework and its related notice requirements, and the Illinois 2027 amendments affect the drafting of notices currently required under the Illinois Human Rights Act. Some pending measures would also impose additional notice or posting requirements.
Employers should review workplace posters and accommodation notices to determine whether revisions are necessary to comply with the new requirements.
Consider Existing Disability Law in Every Jurisdiction
The absence of an express menopause statute in a given jurisdiction does not necessarily mean that an employer has no accommodation obligation.
Depending on the nature and severity of the employee’s symptoms and their effect on major life activities or bodily functions, a menopause-related condition may nonetheless satisfy the definition of disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act or broader state disability laws.
Employers therefore should avoid automatically denying a request simply because menopause is not expressly identified in the jurisdiction’s employment statute. The appropriate analysis may instead require application of existing disability accommodation law and the interactive process.
