Employer Obligations Under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: Regulatory Update, Legal Challenges, New Administration

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?