Employer Obligations Under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: Regulatory Update, Legal Challenges, New Administration
Course Details
- smart_display Format
Live Online with Live Q&A
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
Intermediate
- work Practice Area
Employment and Workers Comp
- event Date
Tuesday, August 26, 2025
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
-
This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
This CLE webinar will guide employment practitioners through the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) expansive final regulations that went into effect last year as they stand currently and the potential impact of a new administration as the regulations face new scrutiny. The panel will address how the PWFA framework differs from that of the ADA, provide examples of what may be considered reasonable accommodation under the PWFA, and offer best practices for compliance in an evolving regulatory landscape.
Ms. Barr focuses her practice on helping employers avoid and resolve labor and employment law issues. She has extensive experience in litigation, collective bargaining, mediation, and arbitration, practicing before the EEOC, Ohio Civil Rights Commission, and both state and federal courts. Ms. Barr has represented a wide variety of employers—both public and private—in employment litigation and has successfully litigated cases involving employment discrimination, retaliation, and trade secrets as well as several wage and hour class and collective actions. In addition to her litigation practice, Ms. Barr counsels employers on union relations, Title VII, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act as well as various state and federal wage and hour laws. She also routinely advises clients on employee handbooks and policies, restrictive covenants, such as noncompetition and non-solicitation agreements, and provides counsel on employment agreements and exit plans.
Ms. Releford is a seasoned attorney who understands the legal ins-and-outs of the workplace. As a partner in Ice Miller’s Workplace Solutions Group, her background in human resources gives her the knowledge to navigate complex issues that lie at the intersection of separation and hiring, disability, and discrimination issues. Ms. Releford also provides trainings on equal employment opportunity laws and conducts workplace investigations. She has appeared before state and federal courts, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Maryland Commission on Civil Rights, the D.C. Office of Human Rights, and the Prince George’s County Human Relations Commission. Ms. Releford routinely counsels large and small businesses, nonprofit associations, employers, community associations and individuals in matters involving discrimination based on disability, gender, sexual orientation, race, religion, and age.
The EEOC issued final regulations under the PWFA last year that take an expansive view of the statute's requirements and significantly impact employers with 15 or more employees. However, with the advent of a new administration, continued legal challenges, and the firing of the Commission's two democrats, questions arise as to possible changes.
The PWFA requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodation to qualified employees or applicants who are experiencing known limitations related to "pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions," unless doing so would cause the employer "undue hardship." The regulations broadly define covered medical conditions to include: (1) current, past, and potential pregnancy; (2) childbirth; (3) lactation; (4) use of contraception; (5) infertility treatments; and (6) abortion, among other conditions. The regulations have faced significant legal challenges, particularly with respect to requiring workplace accommodation for abortions.
While the PWFA incorporates the definitions of reasonable accommodation and undue hardship found in the ADA, the regulations provide a different framework for determining whether an employee is "qualified" and allow for the temporary suspension of performing essential job functions as reasonable accommodation. Furthermore, even though the regulations largely track the ADA related to engaging in the interactive process, there are differences. For example, the regulations provide that employers must respond to employee requests with "expediency" and encourage granting an interim accommodation while going through the interactive process.
Listen as our expert panel guides practitioners through employer obligations under the PWFA and the EEOC's current PWFA regulations. The panel will discuss the possible impact of legal challenges and a new administration's heightened scrutiny and offer best practices for compliance.
I. Introduction
II. EEOC's current PWFA regulations
A. Covered employers
B. Eligible employees and applicants
C. Covered medical conditions
D. Reasonable accommodation
E. Medical documentation and inquiries
F. Employer defenses
III. ADA interaction
IV. Agency enforcement
V. Possible impact of new administration and legal challenges
VI. Best practices for compliance
The panel will review these and other key considerations:
- Who are covered employers under the PWFA? Eligible employees and applicants?
- What medical conditions are covered under the PWFA?
- What obligations are required of employers under the PWFA? How do these differ from employer obligations under the ADA?
- What are examples of reasonable accommodation under the PWFA? When is leave considered a reasonable accommodation under the PWFA?
- What legal challenges have been raised against the current regulations? What impact may the new administration have on the regulations?
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