TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. Executive Summary
2. Introduction
   • The Shift in U.S. Legal Landscape
   • Pre-2025 Limitations
3. The Rhode Island Menopause Accommodation Law
   • Statutory Requirements
   • Excerpted Language from the Codified Law
   • Covered Conditions and Accommodations
4. Prior Legal Protections and Case Law
   • ADA, Title VII, ADEA, and Pregnancy Discrimination
   • Mullen v. New Balance Athletics, Inc. (D. Me. 2019)
   • LeBoy v. Brennan (N.D. Ill. 2017)
   • State-Level Litigation Trends
5. Employer Obligations Under the Rhode Island Statute
   • Notification and Policy Update Requirements
   • Reasonable Accommodation Interactive Process
   • Prohibited Conduct and Enforcement
   • Documentation and Compliance Table
6. National Implications and Future Trends
   • How Rhode Island Sets a National Model
   • Recommendations for Multi-State Employers
   • Anticipated Developments in State and Federal Law
7. Conclusion
   • Impact on Compliance Strategy and Equity Initiatives
   • The Path Forward for Workplace Inclusivity
8. References
   • Statutes, Cases, and Legal Analyses
   • Legislative Testimony and Advocacy Statements
   • Compliance and Policy Resources
9. Appendix A: Full Text of Rhode Island §28-5-7.4 – Menopause Accommodation Law

Executive Summary

With the passage of Rhode Island’s groundbreaking menopause accommodation law in June 2025, the United States enters a new era of workplace protections for women navigating menopause. This white paper examines the new Rhode Island statute, places it at the center of the U.S. legal landscape and reviews the legal implications for organizations nationwide. Rhode Island’s law stands as the first codified, explicit legal mandate for menopause accommodations in any state, reshaping the compliance landscape and providing a model for future legislation.

Introduction

Until recently, U.S. employers operated in a legal environment where menopause-specific workplace accommodations were not directly addressed by federal or state law. Legal protections were limited to general anti-discrimination statutes such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and sometimes state analogues for pregnancy or disability. As a result, organizations faced ambiguity on whether or how to support employees experiencing menopause-related symptoms.

In June 2025, Rhode Island became the first state to codify an explicit requirement for workplace menopause accommodations, establishing a new benchmark for both compliance and best practices.

The Current U.S. Legal Landscape: Rhode Island at the Forefront

The Rhode Island Menopause Accommodation Law

Effective June 24, 2025, Rhode Island amended its Fair Employment Practices Act to mandate workplace accommodations specifically for menopause and related medical conditions. The law establishes key requirements for employers, including:

• A duty to provide reasonable accommodations for employees experiencing menopause or menopause-related medical conditions—unless this poses undue hardship.
• A prohibition on mandating leave if other accommodations are possible.
• Written and posted notice requirements for new and existing employees.
• Covered conditions include vasomotor symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats.
• Explicit anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation protections.

Statutory Language (Excerpted)

“(a) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an 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 can demonstrate that the accommodation would pose an undue hardship on the employer’s … business;

To require an employee to take leave if another reasonable accommodation can be provided for an employee’s condition related to pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, or a related medical condition;

To deny employment opportunities to an employee or prospective employee if such denial is based on the refusal of the employer to reasonably accommodate …”

Readers seeking the exact statutory language may refer to Appendix A.

Prior Legal Protections: Federal and State Limitations

Prior to Rhode Island’s action, menopause accommodations were dependent on interpretation under broader statutes:

• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA):
  Severe menopause symptoms could sometimes qualify as a disability requiring accommodations if they substantially limited major life activities.
• Title VII and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA):
  Provided a shield against gender and age discrimination, but did not mandate accommodations for menopause itself.
• Pregnancy Discrimination Acts:
  Sometimes invoked where menopause-related symptoms overlapped with pregnancy or reproductive health, but these statutes are not tailored to menopause.

Case Law

• Mullen v. New Balance Athletics, Inc. (D. Me. 2019): Recognized abrupt menopause (due to surgery) as a possible ADA-protected disability if it substantially impacts life activities, requiring an individualized assessment.
• LeBoy v. Brennan (N.D. Ill. 2017): Addressed hostility based on reproductive health under Title VII, reinforcing protection from sex-based harassment.

None of these cases or statutes prior to 2025 imposed a specific, universal mandate for menopause accommodations. Rhode Island’s law is the first to do so.

Employer Obligations Under the New Rhode Island Law

Notification & Policy Requirements

• Written notice to all new hires, current employees within 120 days of the law’s effective date, and within 10 days of an employee’s notification of menopause.
• Physical posting of these rights in accessible workplace locations.
• Updates to employee handbooks and policy documents are required.

Reasonable Accommodations

• Engage in a good faith, interactive process to identify and implement reasonable accommodations.
• Examples include longer or more frequent breaks, schedule modifications, workspace adjustments, or light/alternative duties.
• Leave as a last resort: Employers may not require leave if a suitable accommodation is available and preferred by the employee.
• Burden of proof: Employers asserting “undue hardship” must demonstrate it.

Prohibited Conduct

• Denying reasonable accommodation absent hardship.
• Denying job opportunities based on accommodation needs.
• Retaliating against employees who request menopause-related accommodations.
• Failure to provide required notices or to engage in the accommodation process.

Summary Table: Key Employer Actions

What This Means for Organizations Nationally

Direct Impact

• In Rhode Island: Employers must immediately bring policies and practices into compliance, train HR and management, and foster a culture open to accommodation requests.
• Outside Rhode Island: While no federal or other state law currently mandates menopause-specific accommodations, evolving legal and societal expectations signal increasing risk for employers who fail to address these needs.

Trends and Anticipated Change

• Legal experts and advocates now cite Rhode Island’s law as a model for future state—and possibly federal—action to ensure women’s health and retention in the workplace.
• Organizations operating across multiple states or seeking to establish best-in-class environments are encouraged to adopt similar policies proactively, even if not yet legally required.

Conclusion

Rhode Island’s new menopause accommodation law marks a milestone in American employment law—ending the era where U.S. workplaces lacked a direct legal mandate for menopause support. The law establishes clear, actionable standards that position Rhode Island as a national leader and a likely harbinger of new legal expectations nationwide. Employers are urged to review, update, and proactively expand their policies regarding reproductive health, not only to ensure compliance but to maintain a competitive and equitable workplace as legal trends evolve.

References

• Rhode Island General Laws, § 28-5-7.4 / S0361 (2025)
• Littler Mendelson, “Rhode Island Becomes First State to Mandate Workplace Accommodations for Menopause,” 2025
• Bowditch & Dewey, “Rhode Island’s Menopause Accommodation Law as a National Model,” 2025
• State of Rhode Island General Assembly, press releases and bill text, 2025
• Selected U.S. case law: Mullen v. New Balance Athletics, Inc. (D. Me. 2019); LeBoy v. Brennan (N.D. Ill. 2017)
• ACLU of Rhode Island legislative testimony, Women’s Fund of Rhode Island policy statements

This white paper updates and supersedes prior summaries written before the codification of the Rhode Island menopause accommodation law. 

Appendix A: Full Text of Rhode Island §28-5-7.4 (Menopause Accommodation Law)

• 28-5-7.4. Accommodation of Pregnancy-Related and Menopause-Related Conditions

(a) It shall be an unlawful employment practice for an employer, as defined in § 28-5-6, to do the following:

1. To refuse to reasonably accommodate an employee’s or prospective employee’s condition related to pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, or a related medical condition, including, but not limited to, the need to express breast milk for a nursing child, if she so requests, unless the employer can demonstrate that the accommodation would pose an undue hardship on the employer’s program, enterprise, or business;
2. To require an employee to take leave if another reasonable accommodation can be provided to an employee’s condition related to the pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, or a related medical condition;
3. To deny employment opportunities to an employee or prospective employee, if such denial is based on the refusal of the employer to reasonably accommodate an employee’s or prospective employee’s condition related to pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, or a related medical condition;
4. To fail to provide written notice, including notice conspicuously posted at an employer’s place of business in an area accessible to employees, of the right to be free from discrimination in relation to pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, and related conditions, including the right to reasonable accommodations for conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, or related conditions pursuant to this section to:
   • (i) New employees at the commencement of employment;
   • (ii) Existing employees within one hundred twenty (120) days after the effective date of June 25, 2015;
   • (iii) Any employee who notifies the employer of her pregnancy or menopause, within ten (10) days of such notification;
5. For any person, whether or not an employer, employment agency, labor organization, or employee, to aid, abet, incite, compel, or coerce the doing of any act declared by this section to be an unlawful employment practice; or to obstruct or prevent any person from complying with the provisions of this section or any order issued pursuant to this section; or to attempt directly or indirectly to commit any act declared by this section to be an unlawful employment practice.

(b) For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

1. “Qualified employee or prospective employee” means a “qualified individual” as defined in 42-87-1(3)(i);
2. “Reasonably accommodate” means providing reasonable accommodations, including, but not limited to, more frequent or longer breaks, time off to recover from childbirth, acquisition or modification of equipment, seating, temporary transfer to a less strenuous or hazardous position, job restructuring, light duty, break time and private non-bathroom space for expressing breast milk, assistance with manual labor, or modified work schedules;
3. “Related conditions” includes, but is not limited to, lactation or the need to express breast milk for a nursing child, or the need to manage the effects of vasomotor symptoms;
4. “Undue hardship” means an action requiring significant difficulty or expense to the employer. In making a determination of undue hardship, the factors that may be considered include, but shall not be limited to, the following:
   • (i) The nature and cost of the accommodation;
   • (ii) The overall financial resources of the employer; the overall size of the business of the employer with respect to the number of employees, and the number, type, and location of its facilities; and
   • (iii) The effect on expenses and resources or the impact otherwise of such accommodation upon the operation of the employer.
   • (A) The employer shall have the burden of proving undue hardship.
   • (B) The fact that the employer provides, or would be required to provide, a similar accommodation to other classes of employees who need it, such as those who are injured on the job or those with disabilities, shall create a rebuttable presumption that the accommodation does not impose an undue hardship on the employer.

(c) No employer shall be required by this section to create additional employment that the employer would not otherwise have created, unless the employer does so, or would do so, for other classes of employees who need accommodation, such as those who are injured on the job or those with disabilities.

(d) No employer shall be 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 it, such as those who are injured on the job or those with disabilities.

(e) The provisions of this section shall not be construed to affect any other provision of law relating to sex discrimination, or pregnancy, or menopause, or to preempt, limit, diminish, or otherwise affect any other law that provides greater protection or specific benefits with respect to pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, or medical conditions related to childbirth or menopause.

(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require an individual with a need related to pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, or a related medical condition to accept an accommodation which such individual chooses not to accept.