New Compliance Requirements for Employers – Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Regulations
The regulation adopted by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) to implement the Pregnant Worker’s Fairness Act (“PWFA”) went into effect on June 18, 2024. The PWFA applies, in addition to Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Family and Medical Leave Act, and requires employers to provide accommodations that would allow a pregnant employee to continue working and earning wages and make more leave available for post-partum recovery and bonding. EEOC resources regarding the PWFA and its implementation can be found here: https://bit.ly/3SAZnyc and https://bit.ly/4fyNiDs.
All United States private and public employers, including state and local governments, with 15 or more employees are subject to the PWFA. The PWFA mandates that employers provide reasonable accommodations to qualified employees and applicants with known limitations that are arising out of or affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless an accommodation will cause the employer undue hardship. The PWFA also prohibits an employer from requiring an employee or applicant to accept an accommodation that is not a reasonable accommodation arrived at through the interactive process.
The EEOC’s final rule provides interpretative guidance for the implementation of the PWFA, including:
- Examples of reasonable accommodations;
- Guidance regarding limitations and medical conditions for which employees or applicants may seek reasonable accommodations;
- Guidance regarding early and frequent communication between employers and workers to raise and resolve requests for reasonable accommodations in a timely manner;
- Guidance regarding the circumstance creating undue hardship on an employer and its business; and
- Information on how employers may assert defenses or exemptions.
Employers with questions about the EEOC’s final rule or compliance with the PWFA should contact Nikole Canute, Scott Dwyer, Nate Wolf, Dominic Clolinger, Kathryn Stegink, or Yue (April) Li as soon as practicable.
