Today, the U.S. House of Representatives advanced bipartisan legislation co-sponsored by Rep. Cindy Axne (IA-03) that will improve workplace protections and accommodations for pregnant workers.
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act closes the gap in existing protections for pregnant employees by requiring employers to make reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers, ensuring that these workers can stay healthy and earn a living without facing discrimination or being forced to ignore medical advice.
“The existing federal legal measures in place to protect expecting mothers are insufficient, and this bill would tighten the national standard to ensure that pregnant employees are treated appropriately and fairly in the workplace.” said Rep. Axne. “I know the incredibly difficult balancing act that working mothers have to perform when pregnant on the job – because I was one of them. We should not be forcing any expecting mothers to choose between ignoring their doctor’s advice and losing their jobs because they are unable to get the reasonable accommodations that they need.”
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act:
- Clarifies that reasonable accommodations must be made by employers for workers who are limited by pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions.
- Protects pregnant workers from retaliation, coercion, intimidation, threats or interference if they request or use an accommodation.
- Provides an exemption for businesses if an accommodation imposes an undue hardship on an employer.
- Applies to employers with 15 or more employees and provide protections for both job applicants and employees.
In 1978, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act was signed into law to protect against pregnancy discrimination in the workforce. But subsequent legal rulings interpreted these protections narrowly, allowing employers to refuse to accommodate pregnancy-related medical needs.
A 2015 ruling in Young v. UPS further stated that a pregnant employee must demonstrate that they were denied an accommodation that was extended to an employee of similar limitation (e.g., cannot lift heavy objects or stand because of a back injury) in order to bring a lawsuit under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act – an extremely difficult standard for plaintiffs to meet.
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act updates that standard, requiring that reasonable accommodations must be provided to pregnant workers regardless of related precedent, provided the accommodation does not impose undue hardship.
Over thirty states have enacted rights to accommodation similar to the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act at the state level. Iowa is not one of them.
Original source can be found here
