Relates to preventing discrimination and increasing awareness of rights for employees with menstrual-related conditions…

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◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Lea Webb says this is needed

Approximately two million women living in the United States experience menopause each year, with 17% of women in the workforce transitioning from perimenopause to menopause. However, despite these numbers, employ- ers are often unaware and uneducated on how this biological function impacts their employees. Many women experience intense headaches, memory lapses, severe stiffness, panic attacks, debilitating episodes of anxie- ty, as well as other mental and physical symptoms, during menopause. This glaring gap in knowledge and understanding of women's health leads to discrimination against menopausal employees. According to a recent study conducted by Biote, 65% of women said their workplace did not offer reasonable accommodations for those experiencing menopause. Although federal law prohibits discrimination against people based on sex, age and disability, the law does not specifically protect against discrimination based on menstruation and menopause, which has allowed many menopausal claims to fall through the judicial cracks. In 2024, the Biden-Harris Administration announced a series of recommenda- tions that employers could implement at work to better support and retain menopausal employees, such as providing employees with informa- tion about menopause and their rights under current law, as well and strengthening existing policies to better support menopausal workers. With 28% of the workforce either leaving or considering leaving their jobs because of menopausal symptoms and treatment, New York must do more to protect women from workplace discrimination. This legislation would strengthen New York's labor laws to explicitly bar employers from discriminating against menopausal or menstruating employees and provide employees with a menopausal and menstrual bill of rights.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.