Section 51.44. Reasonable accommodation to rights of employes

(a) It is the goal of the Commission to encourage all employers and their employes to anticipate any interference in the regular course of business activites which might be caused by the exercise of the rights of an employe under § § 51.41—51.43 (relating to rights and obligations of individuals) and that such advance planning shall enable the parties to develop a satisfactory course of action to be followed in all such instances.

(b) Employers who are covered by section 5.2 of the act (43 P. S. § 955.2), relating to discrimination with respect to abortion and sterilization, have a duty to make reasonable accommodations to the needs of their employes, as specified in this section, where such persons express either a willingness or refusal to perform or participate in abortion or sterilization procedures based upon the lawfully stated grounds of objection thereto which willingness or refusal requires the employe to refrain from performing his normally assigned duties or where an employe manifests an attitude with respect to abortion or sterilization. In all cases where it is reasonably foreseeable that a manifestation of attitude or a willingness or objection with respect to abortion or sterilization will result in an interference with the performance of duties required of an employe in the normal course of his employment, such employer may require advance notice thereof by the employe. This notice is necessary so that the claim and the needs of such person may be evaluated by the employer prior to the anticipated interference and enable the employer to make reasonable accommodations to such manifestation of attitude or willingness or objection, with respect to sterilization.

(c) The reasonable accommodations made by the employer to the needs and desires of such employes are such accommodations which may be made without undue hardship to the conduct of the employer’s business. Such undue hardship, for example, may exist where the employe’s needed work cannot be performed by another employe of substantially similar qualifications in the situation where and at the time when the person refuses to perform or participate in the performance of abortion or sterilization procedures or where the employe refuses to perform his normally assigned duties incident to employment.

(d) Because of the particularly sensitive nature of the problems raised in this area and the needs and personal requirements of each person with respect to performance or participation in abortion or sterilization procedures or the manifestation of attitude with respect thereto, the employer shall have the burden of proving that an undue hardship renders the required accommodations to such needs and requirements of the employe unreasonable.

(e) The Commission will review each case on an individual basis, in an effort to seek an equitable application of the provisions of this chapter to the variety of situations which may arise due to the moral, religious, or professional practices and requirements of the citizens of the Commonwealth.