EEOC Issues Proposed Rule to Implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act; Comments Due October 10

Published August 08, 2023

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued correcting amendments for the procedural regulations of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). The corrections were issued due to drafting errors in the proposed rules.

(Updated February 22, 2024)

 

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a proposed rule to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which requires a covered entity to provide reasonable accommodations to a qualified employee’s or applicant’s known limitation related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation will cause an undue hardship on the operation of the business of the covered entity. 


The proposed rule:
  • Explains how the EEOC proposes to interpret the PWFA and certain terms in the statute, such as “temporary”, “essential functions”, and “communicated to the employer,” 
  • Provides numerous examples of possible reasonable accommodations and seeks input on whether there should be more examples and for what additional different situations. 

EEOC solicits information and comment on particular issues, including existing data quantifying the proportion of pregnant workers who need workplace accommodations, and existing data on the average cost of pregnancy-related accommodations.

Comments are due October 10, 2023.

News release

(Posted August 8, 2023)