445,000 Ohio women may gain right to 12 weeks maternity leave
Civil Rights Commission clarifies rules Friday, October 26, 2007 Printed in the Cleveland Plain Dealer The Ohio Civil Rights Commission approved new maternity rules Thursday that guarantee 12 weeks of leave for pregnant women - including nearly a half-million women who don't have it now. The new regulations could go into effect by the end of the year, although opponents plan to fight them. Federal law requires businesses with 50 or more employees to grant 12 weeks of unpaid leave to women who worked 1,250 hours in the year before, or about 20 hours per week. The new Ohio rules would go further, requiring businesses with four or more workers to grant the benefits to all women, regardless of hours worked. Commission spokeswoman Toni Delgado said the new rules clarify regulations that required certain employers to provide "reasonable" time away, a standard the commission considered vague. The commission approved the amended rules, 4-1. The proposal now goes to the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review, which considers whether agencies overstepped their authority and whether new rules conflict with other regulations. You can read the rest of this article on the Cleveland Plain Dealer website. | 
