Pregnant & Parenting at UT Southwestern
UT Southwestern is committed to ensuring our pregnant faculty, staff and students are accommodated during their pregnancy, after the birth of their child, and if the individual has any related medical conditions.
Employees
UTSW's Campus Accessibility Services (CAS) team is responsible for evaluating employee requests for an accommodation for pregnancy and/or related conditions. UTSW provides reasonable accommodations unless such accommodation would result in an "undue hardship." See ETH-152 Reasonable Accommodations for Qualified Applicants and Employees. In coordination with CAS, supervisors at UTSW are asked to evaluate an employee's accommodation request and then document the department's determination of that request through our online portal: Supervisor's Pregnancy Accommodation Report Form.
Employees wanting to request a pregnancy accommodation (from the list of frequently requested pregnancy accommodations listed below) should first contact their supervisor and/or departmental administrator directly.
The following list includes the only pregnancy related accommodations that supervisors/departments may grant without first consulting with the Campus Accessibility Services team and having a formal approval letter issued by that office.
- 15-20 minute breaks during the workday
- Frequent use of the restroom
- Providing chairs/carts/or dollies (when available)
- Providing a work location with elevator access (as appropriate)
- Regular/infrequent use of sick leave for medical appointments
- Ability to eat and drink while working (as appropriate)
- Desk/chair modifications
- Ability to wear comfortable shoes/clothing (an exemption to departmental dress codes as appropriate)
- Modifications to the work environment such as a portable fan/heater (if permissible in your workspace)
- Facemasks/ventilators and/or Approved Leave (Sick/Vacation/State Parental Leave or FMLA) in coordination with HR-Leave Administration, such as:
- Regular use of sick/vacation leave in accordance with EMP-253 Sick Leave. If an employee has exhausted their leave accruals, including all FMLA leave, and is requesting more time off, please refer the employee to the Office for Access & Title IX for a review of their request.
- FMLA Usage: For all FMLA usage, continue to follow the procedures outlined in EMP-256 Family and Medical Leave. Please note that employees who are not eligible for FMLA leave under EMP-256 Family and Medical Leave may be eligible for leave for the birth, adoption, or placement of a child under EMP-257 State Parental Leave.
Once the department reviews the pregnancy accommodation request, the supervisor or department administrator should document the employee's request via the Supervisor's Pregnancy Accommodation Report Form.
All other pregnancy related accommodation requests, including all requests that may result in an undue hardship for UTSW, should be submitted directly to the Campus Accessibility Services Team via the Pregnancy Accommodation Request (for Employees) form.
To learn more about available resources for pregnant and parenting employees, visit the UT Southwestern Wellness site.
Student/Learners
The UT Southwestern Title IX Team provides accommodations for pregnant student learners and applicants. The Title IX Team can provide accommodations based on your pregnancy or parenting status and will coordinate any disability related accommodations with Campus Accessibility Services.
To learn more about resources and protection for pregnant and/or parenting students, please visit UT Southwestern’s Title IX website.
Request a Student Pregnancy/Parenting AccommodationRecord of Student/Learners Pregnancy Accommodation for Faculty
