In the latest Weekly Wright Report:

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act:  An Introduction for Workers and Employers

By: Thomas J. Moran

Employers need to be aware of a new federal law that provides protections to pregnant women and new mothers. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, signed by President Biden in late 2022, went into effect on June 27, 2023. While new moms and moms-to-be have long been protected from adverse employment consequences related to their condition, the PWFA is focused on reasonable accommodations geared toward minimizing limitations they may experience while working. The PWFA is intended to fill in gaps left by Title VII, the ADA, and the FMLA to provide a comprehensive statutory and regulatory framework.

Under the new law, a pregnant worker or new mother may communicate a limitation or request to her employer. The scope of potential pregnancy-related issues is wide and includes preexisting conditions that may be worsened by pregnancy, such as high blood pressure or anxiety. The request may be, but does not have to be, in writing.  Medical terms do not have to be used, and the PWFA does not need to be specifically invoked. Importantly, there is no “severity threshold” in the law, which recognizes that even pregnancies that are relatively smooth have their challenges.  In short, a quick, informal request is sufficient to trigger an employer’s duties.

Once a pregnancy-related issue is identified by the employee and a request for accommodation is made, the employer is required to respond. The reasonableness of the employer’s response will be measured by the cost and inconvenience of providing the requested accommodation. Requests that would cause “undue hardship” to the employer do not have to be granted.

EEOC regulations set forth the types of reasonable accommodations that may be requested. They include part-time schedules, modification of break schedules, purchase of special equipment or uniforms, paid or unpaid leave, light duty, work-at-home allowances, and suspending physically demanding work requirements.

The goal of the Act is to facilitate low-cost modifications to a pregnant worker or new mother’s job schedule and requirements without imposing a significant investment on the employer. Most of the accommodations contemplated by the Act are expected to have either no cost, or a cost of only a few hundred dollars. To work properly, the Act requires good faith communication between the worker and the employer. Employers should consider training to recognize requests for accommodations when they are made and implement procedures for the consideration of requests in appropriate circumstances.

If you have questions about The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, feel free to contact me at tmoran@wcslaw.com or (804) 362-9434, or contact one of our Maryland-based members of the WCS Labor & Employment Law group.