On June 27, 2023, Congress passed the Pregnant Woman’s Fairness Act (“PWFA”). The PWFA requires employers with 15 employees or more to provide reasonable accommodations to employees or applicants with known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless such accommodation would cause the employer an undue hardship. The PWFA directs the EEOC to implement the law.

The EEOC issued its final regulation for implementing the law on April 15, 2024, and the regulations went into effect on June 18, 2024. The regulations define the terms contained in the PWFA. A limitation is “a physical or mental condition related to, affected by, or arising out of the pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.” An employee or applicant must actually communicate their limitations to the employer for it to be “known”. A qualified employee or applicant can have a limitation regardless of whether it is considered a disability under the ADA.“Reasonable accommodations” generally refers to a change in the work environment or how things are done. The regulations provide several examples of such accommodations, which include, but are not limited to, frequent breaks; sitting/standing; schedule changes including part-time work and unpaid or paid leave; telework; parking; light duty; making existing facilities accessible or modifying the work environment; job restructuring; temporarily suspending one or more essential job function; acquiring or modifying equipment uniforms, or devices; and adjusting or modifying examinations or policies.

In September 2024, the EEOC announced it would be filing its first lawsuits against employers under the PWFA. On September 26, 2024, the EEOC filed a lawsuit against Polaris Industries, Inc, in the Northern District of Alabama for alleged violations of the PWFA and ADA. The EEOC claims that Polaris refused to excuse a pregnant employee’s absences for medical appointments and required her to work mandatory overtime despite her medical provider limiting her to 40 hours of work each week. According to the EEOC, Polaris assessed attendance points against the employee and cautioned that if she received another point, she would be terminated. The employee later resigned from her job.

Employers should review their policies and training procedures to ensure that they are complying with the PFWA and EEOC regulations. An employer cannot require an employee to take paid or unpaid leave if there is another effective reasonable accommodation that exists. Employers should engage in an interactive process, meaning two-way communication between the employer and employee, to identify the employee’s limitations and the reasonable accommodations they need to perform their work. Employers should be aware that delay in the implementation of a reasonable accommodation may also be a violation of the PWFA.