School and Community Fall 2023

News

New Staff Introducing Christy Myers, the

latest addition to the MSTA team. Christy serves as Administrative Assistant within the accounting department. She was born and raised in Farley, Iowa and her journey led her to Missouri nearly 14 years ago when her husband’s career called for a move. Christy’s educational accomplishments include graduating from Western Dubuque Highschool in 1995 and earning a Business Specialist degree from Northeast Iowa Community College. She spent eight years at VeteransLoans.com, where she excelled as an HR Office Administrator. Christy’s adaptability and versatility became evident during her time there, and she is now eager to bring her skills and enthusiasm to her new role at MSTA. Why MSTA? After finding the job description, I read about MSTA and it sounded like a great place that has a great history. Even though I haven’t worked previously in an accounting department, I did help out my previous employer with accounting when they needed help. learning at MSTA? I look forward to learning more about all of the departments and meeting the people who make up this association. What’s a fun fact about you? I am from the area where the movie Field of Dreams was made. “If you build it, they will come.” My parents live in that town now - Dyersville, Iowa. What do you look forward to

New Law Protecting Pregnant Workers Not long ago, public school districts in Missouri were not required by law to accommodate breast feeding mothers during the school day. While most schools did anyway, the law has made quite a bit of development in the area of assisting pregnant and nursing mothers over the last 15 years. Progress on this is once again moving forward with the Pregnancy Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which went into effect on June 27, 2023. The PWFA requires covered employers to provide “reasonable accommodations” to a worker’s known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation will cause “undue hardship” on the employer. Thankfully, nearly all public-school districts in Missouri are going to be required to follow this law, as the law applies to any employer with at least 15 employees. The accommodation process for the PWFA is similar to what you’re likely familiar with under the ADA. The employer is required by law to have a conversation with you and attempt to try and find reasonable accommodations that work for everybody. However, there are limitations to what the employer is required to do. A reasonable accommodation could be the ability to sit, eat and/or rest during the day, or additional break times to use the bathroom. The needs of each employee will be different and will need to be discussed with your school district. Out of this new law there are other protections for an employee. Employers cannot deny a job or other employment opportunity to someone who is otherwise qualified because of the person’s need for a reasonable accommodation. Employers cannot retaliate against an individual or otherwise interfere with an individual’s rights under the PWFA. As with any legal situation, issues are fact specific. If you have questions about this new law, or any other legal questions, you should contact the MSTA Legal Services Department at 866-343-6186. You can also email us at legalservices@msta.org.

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