Equal Rights Advocates Applauds EEOC’s New Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) Regulations

April 15. 2024

For Immediate Release
Apr 15, 2024

Media Contact
Nazirah Ahmad
[email protected]

Washington, D.C.— Today, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a final rule to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). The regulations provide important clarity that will guarantee pregnant workers’ right to reasonable workplace accommodations (such as a chair at their workstation or additional bathroom breaks) that enable them to maintain a healthy pregnancy while working. The regulations also help employers understand their duties under the law.

Equal Rights Advocates has spent five decades fighting pregnancy discrimination and advocating for accommodations for pregnant workers and was pleased to submit comments in support of this rule.

The following is a statement by Deborah J. Vagins, National Campaign Director at Equal Rights Advocates: 

“No worker should have to choose between their job and their health or a healthy pregnancy.  Equal Rights Advocates strongly supports the EEOC’s comprehensive regulations on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which fairly balances the interest of employers with the interest of employees. These changes will protect pregnant workers’ health without compromising their families’ economic security.

We thank the EEOC for issuing this strong rule implementing the PWFA. The rule provides important clarity for both workers and employers, and will fulfill the law’s purpose of ensuring people with known limitations resulting from pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions can remain healthy and working. We are also pleased to see that the final rule recognizes that ‘pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions’ have long been understood to include lactation, miscarriage, and abortion. The regulations ensure these workers will have access to reasonable accommodations, which will allow them to keep doing their jobs safely and effectively, free from discrimination and retaliation.

This rule will help pregnant workers maintain their health and economic security at a time when we continue to see an erosion of rights in other sectors.”