The details

The Philadelphia City Council has enacted legislation (Bill 250849), which amends the Philadelphia Fair Practices Ordinance (PFPO) to prohibit discrimination against employees based on menstruation, perimenopause and menopause. The changes take effect Jan. 1, 2027.

Additional Nondiscrimination Protections

Starting Jan.1, 2027, Philadelphia an employer must, upon request, provide a reasonable accommodation for needs related to symptoms of menstruation, perimenopause or menopause that substantially interfere with an employee’s ability to perform one or more job functions. An employer must provide a reasonable accommodation unless doing so would cause an undue hardship.

Philadelphia has also added menstruation, perimenopause or menopause as protected characteristics under the PFPO, which prohibits the direct or indirect practice of exclusion, distinction, restriction, segregation, limitation, refusal, denial, differentiation or preference in the treatment of an individual on the basis of certain protected characteristics under Philadelphia, Pennsylvania or federal law.

As a reminder, additional protected characteristics covered under the PFPO include actual or perceived race (including hairstyles and characteristics commonly associate with race), ethnicity, color, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition) reproductive health autonomy, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, source of income, familial status, genetic information or domestic or sexual violence victim status.

Next steps

Philadelphia employers should review workplace and reasonable accommodation policies, practices and training to help comply with the changes.