The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) is a recent addition to compliance mandates for American businesses. The law officially went into effect in June 2023 and the law’s final regulation update went into effect in June 2024. While it has been almost a year since its implementation, many employers are still playing catch-up. (If that’s you, be sure to update yourself on the final ruling here.)
What is PWFA?
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires employers with 15 or more employees provide reasonable accommodations to workers affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. This law ensures that pregnant workers are not forced to take leave when reasonable accommodations could allow them to continue working.
PWFA acts as a buffer to other pregnancy discrimination laws under the American Disabilities Act (ADA) or the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to add extra protection. This law does not replace any federal, state, or local laws that are more protective of workers.
Coverage and Accommodations
These conditions include lactation, morning sickness, fertility treatments, having an abortion, having a miscarriage or stillbirth, medical conditions like pre-eclampsia or gestational diabetes, or postpartum depression.
While any condition related to pregnancy, childbirth, and pregnancy related medical conditions would fall under this PWFA, there are some conditions specifically listed in the act.
While employers are not required to seek documentation confirming the medical condition, they may obtain documentation under limited circumstances. Even so, the information will only include confirmation of the condition and its relation to pregnancy, and a description of the adjustment at work needed due to the limitation.
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) also outlines some examples of proper accommodations. These involve allowing employees to work remotely, altering work schedules, temporary reassignment, providing chairs for employees whose work requires them to stand, allowing for extra or longer breaks to eat or use the bathroom, or adequate leave for medical appointments and recovery time.
Employers can deny accommodation requests if they can prove that providing accommodations would cause undue hardship for the company based on the cost of the accommodation, the size of the employer, or the employer’s financial resources. Additionally, the request is deemed an “interactive process” and can be modified as needed. This means that employers can give an altered accommodation compared to the original request.
To learn more about the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and other compliance regulations you might be missing, go to https://www.eeoc.gov/. Employees can learn more about their rights under PWFA here.
Challenges
Some states have pushed against this act for its coverage of certain medical procedures like abortions. In 2024, 17 states sued the EEOC to enact a preliminary injunction, but the motion was stuck down. In February 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit reversed the district court’s decision, allowing the lawsuit to move forward.
Due to ongoing litigation, workers in Texas are not covered under the Pregnant Worker Fairness Act. As of April 2025, Texas is the only outlier, but other states may join them as litigation continues.
Sources: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Federal Register
