- Law process is complete. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act was published in the Federal Register on April 19 and completed the 60-day notice period on June 18.
- Employer coverage is extensive. The law requires most employers with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations for a worker’s known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions.
- Court ruling creates some caveats. A Louisiana court ruling blocked some provisions of the law in that state and in Mississippi.
The latest version of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) went into effect on Tuesday, June 18, providing increased protections for covered workers and increased requirements for employers.
According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the PWFA, in its June 18 effective form, brings “important clarity that will allow pregnant workers the ability to work and maintain a healthy pregnancy and help employers understand their duties under the law.”
Read: New York Becomes First State to Mandate Paid Prenatal Leave
The PWFA has been active and enforceable since June 27, 2023. The EEOC issued its final regulation to carry out the law on April 15, 2024, and published it in the Federal Register on April 19, triggering the traditional 60-day notice period.
The PWFA requires most employers with 15 or more employees to provide “reasonable accommodations,” or changes at work, for a worker’s known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions (e.g., infertility, lactation, miscarriage, abortion, menstruation), unless the accommodation will cause the employer an undue hardship.
Geographic caveats to the law, though, were implemented June 17 when a Louisiana federal judge blocked the EEOC from requiring Louisiana and Mississippi and a group representing Catholic bishops to provide accommodations to employees who undergo elective abortions.
U.S. District Judge David Joseph in Lake Charles, Louisiana, stated the commission exceeded its authority in extending the PWFA to abortions.
Joseph sided with the Republican attorneys general of Louisiana and Mississippi, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and other groups affiliated with the Catholic Church that abortion is not a “medical condition” that employers must accommodate.
The Foundations and Details of the PWFA
The Louisiana court decision notwithstanding, the PWFA builds upon existing protections against pregnancy discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and access to reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The PWFA and its accompanying interpretative guidance outline:
- Who is covered under the rule
- What limitations and medical conditions are covered
- How individuals can request reasonable accommodations, and
- What is acceptable and not acceptable, through illustrative examples.
“[The PWFA] gives pregnant workers clear access to reasonable accommodations that will allow them to keep doing their jobs safely and effectively, free from discrimination and retaliation,” EEOC chair Charlotte A. Burrows stated in a press release. “[It] provides important information and guidance to help employers meet their responsibilities, and to jobseekers and employees about their rights. It encourages employers and employees to communicate early and often, allowing them to identify and resolve issues in a timely manner.”
Application keys from the final regulation include:
- Examples of reasonable accommodations such as additional breaks to drink water, eat or use the restroom; a stool to sit on while working; time off for healthcare appointments; temporary reassignment; temporary suspension of certain job duties; telework; or time off to recover from childbirth or a miscarriage, among others.
- Guidance regarding limitations and medical conditions for which employees or applicants may seek reasonable accommodation, including miscarriage or still birth; migraines; lactation; and pregnancy-related conditions that are episodic, such as morning sickness. This guidance is based on Congress’ PWFA statutory language, the EEOC’s definition of “pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions” from Title VII, and court decisions interpreting the term “pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions” from Title VII.
- Guidance encouraging early and frequent communication between employers and workers to promptly raise and resolve reasonable accommodation requests.
- Clarification that an employer is not required to seek supporting documentation when an employee asks for a reasonable accommodation and should only do so when it is reasonable under the circumstances.
- Explanation of when an accommodation would impose an undue hardship on an employer and its business.
- Information on how employers may promptly assert defenses or exemptions, including those based on religion.
More information is available on the EEOC webpage, “What You Should Know about the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act”.
Editor’s Note: Additional Content
For more information and resources related to this article, see the pages below, which offer quick access to all WorldatWork content on these topics:
