Governor Rejects Virginia Menopause Bias Bill, Calls for Study

Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) rebuffed a legislative proposal to explicitly cover workers experiencing menopause and perimenopause under anti-discrimination and job accommodation laws, calling instead for the state’s labor department to study the issue and make recommendations.

The legislature had sent Spanberger a Democratic-sponsored bill (HB 1173) to make Virginia one of the first states to specifically protect against menopause-related discrimination on the job and in its civil rights statute more broadly.

Rhode Island last year enacted the nation’s first such state law, as awareness grows about the effects of menopause on women’s health and ability to work. Other ...