Menopause Employment Law: 2027 Updates

What employers should know about key developments this week:

State and Local Laws: Rhode Island was the first state to pass a law requiring workplace protections for employees experiencing menopause, and Illinois and Philadelphia now have laws that take effect January 1, 2027. The Illinois law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for impacted employees.
Vetoes in California and Virginia: California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed menopause-related legislation three times, saying he supported protecting workers from bias tied to menopause but feared the legislation would increase litigation risk. He also noted that existing state civil rights law already covers menopausal conditions. Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger vetoed a menopause-related bill in May 2026.
Federal Proposal: Existing federal laws do not recognize menopause as a distinct protected category, so employees have relied on overlapping protections based on sex, age, or disability. The Menopausal Workers’ Fairness Act, introduced in July 2026, would create an explicit federal right to reasonable accommodation for symptoms related to menopause.

In this episode of Employment Law This Week^®, Epstein Becker Green attorney Courtney McFate discusses state and local menopause protections for employees, vetoes of menopause-related legislation in California and Virginia, and the proposed federal Menopausal Workers’ Fairness Act.

Menopause at Work: New Laws, Vetoes, and a Federal Bill
Play
October 21, 2026

Transcript

[00:00:03] George Whipple: Welcome to Employment Law This Week. I’m George Whipple. State and Local governments are becoming increasingly interested in legislating workplace protections for employees experiencing menopause. We asked Epstein Becker Green’s Courtney McFate what kind of policymaking activity we’re seeing.

[00:00:25] Courtney McFate: This is genuinely a new frontier. In June 2025, Rhode Island became the first state in the nation to pass a law requiring workplace protections for employees experiencing menopause. Illinois and Philadelphia are now following Rhode Island's lead with laws that both take effect on January 1, 2027.

[00:00:42] George Whipple: Courtney, what do these menopause protections look like?

[00:00:46] Courtney McFate: The Illinois law is particularly significant. The Illinois Menopause Equity and Care Act amends the Illinois Human Rights Act to prohibit discrimination and harassment based on menopause-related conditions — including perimenopause and associated symptoms like vasomotor issues, sleep disruption, cognitive and mood changes, and osteoporosis-related changes. It requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations, which may include flexible scheduling, modified work hours, temperature- or climate-adjusted workplaces, private spaces for rest or symptom management, and remote or light-duty arrangements.

[00:01:21] George Whipple: While momentum for these protections is clearly growing, they are meeting resistance in some states.

[00:01:28] Courtney McFate: California’s Governor Gavin Newsom has now vetoed menopause-related legislation three times. Governor Newsom said he supported the goal of protecting workers from menopause-related bias, but feared the bill would substantially increase litigation risk without meaningfully increasing protections—and that these conditions are already covered by existing state civil rights law. Virginia's SB 258 would have added menopause and perimenopause to the protected categories under the Virginia Human Rights Act, extending the same accommodation requirements that apply to pregnancy and childbirth. But Governor Spanberger ultimately vetoed it in May 2026.

[00:02:02] George Whipple: What do menopause protections look like at the federal level?

[00:02:06] Courtney McFate: Existing laws like Title VII, the ADA, and the ADEA don't recognize menopause as a distinct protected category — employees have had to rely on overlapping protections based on sex, age, or disability. At the federal level, the Menopausal Workers' Fairness Act was introduced on July 14, 2026. This would create an explicit federal right to reasonable accommodation for menopause-related symptoms, bar employers from forcing employees to take leave when another accommodation is available, require confidentiality of related medical information, and direct the EEOC to issue implementing regulations within a year of passage.

[00:02:41] George Whipple: Thank you, Courtney. Things are moving quickly in this space. Multistate employers should audit their accommodation policies now to make sure they are compliant. That’s it for this week, thank you for watching and we’ll see you next time.

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