| Course | HRM 5473 Employment Law |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 3 |
| Paper type | Discrimination, accommodation and leave analysis |
| Length | 1,210 words, about 4 pages plus title and reference pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | American College of Education |
| Program | M.S. in Organizational Leadership |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HRM 5473 Module 3
No Lifting, No Recess Duty and a Suggestion to Take Unpaid Leave: Pregnancy Accommodation at a Charter School
Student Name
American College of Education
HRM5473: Employment Law
Module 3 Assignment
Instructor Name
January 24, 2028
Introduction
In December, a classroom aide in a special education room at one of Lakefront Charter Network's schools told the principal of a pregnancy and asked for three changes: no lifting over 20 pounds, which occasionally arises when helping students with physical disabilities; a move from outdoor recess supervision to indoor duty during extreme heat or cold; and an extra short break each morning and afternoon. The principal replied that the job requires lifting and suggested the aide take unpaid leave until after the birth, adding that this might not be the right job right now. The aide contacted human resources. This paper analyzes the situation under federal accommodation, discrimination and leave law and recommends what the network should do.
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
Under the 2022 federal law on pregnant workers, an employer of 15 or more people must adjust work for a qualified employee's known limitations arising from pregnancy, childbirth or a connected condition, stopping only where the change would cause the business real difficulty or expense (Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, 2022). The statute also forbids pushing a worker onto leave when some other adjustment would let the person keep working, and from taking adverse action because an employee requested an accommodation. Lifting limits, a change of duty location and additional breaks are the kinds of modest changes the law anticipates. Under the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's regulations, even an essential function may be temporarily suspended if the employee is expected to resume it in the near future and the suspension does not impose undue hardship (Implementation of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, 2024).
Applying the Act
The aide is a qualified employee who has communicated known limitations. Each request can be met without undue hardship. The classroom has two other aides and a teacher, so occasional lifting can be reassigned for a few months, which amounts to temporarily suspending one function; the network does this routinely when aides are injured. Indoor duty during extreme weather can be arranged by swapping with an aide assigned indoors. Two short breaks a day require brief coverage. The principal's suggestion of unpaid leave is exactly what the law prohibits when other accommodations are available, and the remark that this might not be the right job could be read as discouraging the request, which the law also forbids. The network's own records help here: last year two aides with sprained wrists were excused from lifting for six weeks each without difficulty.
Title VII and Pregnancy Discrimination
A second legal issue concerns discrimination. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, treats discrimination because of pregnancy as sex discrimination and requires that pregnant employees be treated the same as others similar in their ability or inability to work. If the network routinely adjusts duties for aides with temporary injuries but suggested unpaid leave for a pregnant aide, that difference in treatment would support a discrimination claim. Research shows why such responses happen. In field experiments, Hebl et al. (2007) found that women who appeared pregnant received more hostile treatment when applying for jobs, and more benevolent treatment as customers, patterns that reinforce assumptions about pregnant women's place at work.
Leave After the Birth
The aide's leave after the birth raises a separate question. Federal family leave law guarantees as much as twelve weeks away with the job held open after a birth, yet only for someone employed there a full year who logged 1,250 or more hours during that year, and only where the employer has 50 or more workers within 75 miles (Family and Medical Leave Act, 2018). The aide has worked ten months and is due in about three months, so the twelve-month requirement will likely be met, but a school-year schedule of about 35 hours a week makes the 1,250-hour threshold close. HR must calculate eligibility carefully when leave is requested, rather than assuming either answer.
Other Sources of Leave and Protection
Even if the aide narrowly misses federal leave eligibility, other protections apply. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act's regulations recognize leave for recovery from childbirth as a possible reasonable accommodation, so the network may need to provide unpaid leave as an accommodation even without FMLA eligibility, unless that imposes an undue hardship. Paid leave accrued under the Chicago ordinance discussed in Module 1 can be used during that time. And Illinois law separately requires employers to accommodate pregnancy-related needs. Together, these mean the aide is very likely entitled to a period of protected leave after the birth, whatever the federal leave calculation shows.
Documentation and Privacy
Employers often respond to accommodation requests by demanding a doctor's note, but the regulations limit when documentation may be required. For modest, obvious needs such as more frequent breaks and avoiding heavy lifting during pregnancy, the employer generally may not require supporting documentation, and when documentation is reasonable it should be limited to what is needed to confirm the limitation and the need for accommodation. The network will therefore not ask the aide for medical records. Information about the pregnancy and the accommodations will be shared only with those who must know to adjust schedules, and kept in a confidential file separate from the personnel file. Coworkers will be told that duties are being rearranged, not why, unless the aide chooses to share.
What the Network Should Do Now
Four actions are needed. First, HR will meet with the aide this week, confirm the three accommodations in writing, explain that no medical certification is needed for these modest, obvious requests, and invite the aide to raise any further needs. Second, the principal will receive individual coaching on the law, and HR will put in writing to the aide that the earlier comment does not reflect network policy and that no action will be taken because of the request. Third, the classroom schedule will be adjusted to reassign lifting and outdoor duty, with the other staff told only what they need to know. Fourth, HR will calculate leave eligibility as the due date approaches and discuss all available leave with the aide.
Preventing the Next Case
The episode shows a gap in training. Principals and assistant principals will complete a two-hour session on accommodation requests covering pregnancy, disability and religion, with practice responding to requests in the moment. The network will adopt a written accommodation procedure that routes every request to HR within two working days and requires a documented interactive conversation. Requests and outcomes will be tracked, so that HR can confirm that pregnant employees are treated at least as well as employees with temporary injuries. These steps also prepare the network for the legal risk plan in Module 5.
Conclusion
The aide's three requests are reasonable accommodations under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, and the principal's suggestion of unpaid leave and discouraging comment create legal risk under that act and Title VII. Leave after the birth depends on a careful federal eligibility calculation, but other protections make protected leave likely in any case. Granting the accommodations, correcting the principal's response and training school leaders will resolve the case and reduce the chance of the next one.
References
Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 U.S.C. § 2611 (2018).
Hebl, M. R., King, E. B., Glick, P., Singletary, S. L., & Kazama, S. (2007). Hostile and benevolent reactions toward pregnant women: Complementary interpersonal punishments and rewards that maintain traditional roles. Journal of Applied Psychology, 92(6), 1499-1511. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.92.6.1499
Implementation of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, 29 C.F.R. pt. 1636 (2024).
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000gg et seq. (2022).
The HRM 5473 Module 3 assignment instructions
The third HRM 5473 paper usually asks you to analyze a discrimination, accommodation or leave issue. Expect to describe the facts of a real or realistic case clearly, identify every law that applies and apply each one to the facts. Most prompts want statutes and regulations cited directly, with attention to recent laws and agency rules. Consider both what the employee is entitled to and what the employer did or said that creates risk. Many sections also ask what the organization should do now and how it can prevent similar problems. Use research where it helps explain why such situations arise, and cite all sources in APA legal style. Explain what documentation, if any, the employer may request.
How this HRM 5473 Module 3 example is built
A short statement of the facts, including the principal's words, opens the sample. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is explained from the statute and the regulation allowing temporary suspension of an essential function, then applied to each of the three requests. Title VII's equal-treatment rule is compared with how the network treats injured aides, and field experiments on reactions to pregnant women explain the principal's response. FMLA eligibility is calculated for a ten-month employee on a school-year schedule, followed by other sources of protected leave. Four immediate actions and a training and procedure plan close the analysis. A note on documentation explains why no medical certificate is needed here.
Where the points sit in the HRM 5473 Module 3 rubric
Accommodation and discrimination papers are graded on legal precision and practical judgment. Graders look for the correct statutes and regulations, applied element by element to clearly stated facts, and for attention to every relevant law, since several often apply at once. Recognizing both entitlements and the employer's risky conduct shows depth. Calculations such as leave eligibility should be shown. Recommendations should resolve the immediate case and prevent future ones. Research on the underlying behavior adds understanding. Papers that rely on outdated law, ignore state protections or offer only general advice to be respectful tend to lose marks. Cite all law in APA 7 legal style. Explaining what the employer may and may not ask for in documentation also earns credit.
Common HRM 5473 Module 3 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Accommodation and discrimination cases often involve several overlapping laws, which makes them hard to analyze cleanly. When several laws touch one case, students often lose track of which applies, how regulations are cited and how leave eligibility is counted; that is where we come in. Lay out the facts of the case, the employer's size and location and the assignment requirements, and our writer will apply each law in turn and recommend what the employer should do. Pregnancy, disability, religious and leave cases all work well. Your case analysis can be ready in about two days.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official American College of Education document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
More HRM 5473 and M.S. in Organizational Leadership sample papers
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- HRM 5473 Module 2: Worker Classification Analysis
- HRM 5473 Module 4: Union Contract and Grievance
- HRM 5473 Module 5: Legal Risk Management Plan
- ORG 5013 Module 1: Virtual Team Diagnosis
- FIN 5013 Module 2: Ratio and Trend Analysis
- HRM 5463 Module 3: Evaluation Methods and Bias
- HRM 5463 Module 1: Engagement Assessment
HRM 5473 Module 3 questions, answered
What does HRM5473 Module 3 usually ask for?
HRM5473's third module usually examines a discrimination, accommodation or leave issue in one workplace, applying the relevant statutes and regulations to the facts.
What does the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act require?
Employers with 15 or more employees must reasonably accommodate known pregnancy-related limitations unless it causes undue hardship, and cannot force leave when another accommodation would work.
Who is eligible for FMLA leave?
Employees who have worked for the employer at least twelve months and 1,250 hours in the past year, at a worksite with 50 or more employees within 75 miles.
Where can I find a free HRM 5473 Module 3 sample paper?
This page includes one: a Chicago charter school aide's pregnancy accommodation request and a principal's unpaid-leave suggestion, analyzed under the PWFA, Title VII and the FMLA.
Can an employer require a pregnant employee to take leave?
Not when another reasonable accommodation would let the employee keep working; the PWFA specifically bars requiring leave in that situation.