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I work for a small company, and I’ve been here for three months. I get horrid PMS symptoms and would like to take PTO one day a month so as not to have to go into the office when I’m at my worst. Working from home is not an option (company culture), so it must be PTO. If you were a manager, how would you feel about a new employee requesting this kind of PTO request? Should I have asked before I started? Should I wait till I have more tenure?

If I were your boss, I would feel terrible that you get horrid PMS symptoms and would be happy to work with you to find a solution! However, it’s understandable that you’re concerned because you’re new, and your job doesn’t allow remote work. Not every boss is understanding, and not every company is reasonable.

The good news is that a relatively new law, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, or PWFA, covers this. The act’s name makes it seem like it’s just about pregnancy, but it’s not! It’s all about making reasonable accommodations for everything that has to do with female reproduction and the fluctuating hormones that go with it. PWFA applies to every company with at least 15 employees. So unless your company is smaller than that, PWFA is available to you.

Your rights under PWFA

The EEOC released a “non-exhaustive list” of covered conditions. This list includes menstruation, endometriosis, changes in hormone levels and in vitro fertility treatment. While I’m no doctor, your condition probably falls under one of these — and even if it doesn’t, the list is non-exhaustive. That means your HR department can’t go down a checklist and say, “Nope, PMS isn’t here! Sorry!”

PWFA, like the Americans with Disabilities Act, operates based on “reasonable accommodations” and an “interactive process.” What reasonable accommodations means will vary from business to business. 

It also provides suggested accommodations that are “simple, inexpensive, and commonly sought.” Telework is one of those suggestions. (You know it’s a government document when they use the term “telework,” because the rest of us stopped using that term in 1997.)

This doesn’t mean that they have to let you work from home when you have terrible PMS, but it does mean it’s a distinct possibility! Definitely taking your own PTO would be a reasonable accommodation, but you shouldn’t have to make that sacrifice — unless your job truly couldn’t be done from home.

But I can’t make a final judgment from here — that’s what the interactive process is for.

What the interactive process looks like

The first step for the interactive process is a doctor’s note. One of the weird things about PWFA is that your company can’t require your doctor to use a specific form. Your doctor can scrawl a note on her prescription pad, and that can be sufficient.

Your doctor probably will not do that. While PWFA just went into effect in the summer of 2023, and we got the final rules in the summer of 2024, it’s likely that your gynecologist has already filled out a ton of paperwork for PWFA and will be prepared. 

If you feel comfortable asking HR for paperwork for PWFA, you can do that, or you can just go to our doctor and tell her you need an accommodation for your PMS. If she agrees and is willing to write you a note, you’ll take that to your HR department. (There is a possibility that your doctor will say “you can just work through it,” in which case you will need to use your PTO.)

You, HR and your manager will go through a back-and-forth process to determine a reasonable accommodation. It’s that back and forth that makes the process “interactive.” You don’t just get to pick your accommodation, either! It needs to be reasonable for the company. 

But hopefully, you’ll be able to come to an agreement, and you’ll get the accommodation you need.

Should you have spoken up earlier?

People often feel guilty not telling hiring managers about accommodations they may need. Conversely, people usually don’t say anything for fear that they won’t be hired. Legally, you have zero obligation to tell a hiring manager that you’ll request an accommodation based on your health. Morally, you have zero obligation to tell anyone either, as long as you can do the job’s core functions with or without a reasonable accommodation.

As for waiting longer, there can be some wisdom in that, as you get a chance to build up credibility. Even when people think they would be supportive of someone who requests an accommodation, they can become antagonistic toward someone who they perceive as doing less work.

But I’d advise you to go ahead and ask now. Take advantage of a law designed to help women in all stages of their life, pregnant or not.  

Have a dilemma for the Evil HR Lady? Send questions to evilhrlady@gmail.com.

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