On June 27, the White House hosted an event celebrating the new Pregnant Workers Fairness Act—which just went into effect—and the PUMP For Nursing Mothers Act! We were thrilled to join our ABB Community Advocate Lauren Porter who spoke at the event, sharing her experience about getting the accommodations she needed to stay safe and healthy thanks to Virginia’s Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and her excitement that workers nationwide now have the right to these protections.
Lauren worked at a private shipyard in Suffolk, Virginia, and when she was 7 months pregnant, her doctor wrote her a note recommending she work from home to manage health complications she was experiencing. Her manager suggested she take a leave of absence which would have been economically impossible for her family, as they relied on her income. Thankfully, she contacted A Better Balance who provided her with resources about Virginia’s state PWFA. With this knowledge, she went back to her employer, explained the law, and they immediately allowed her to work from home and keep her job when she needed it most. Now, she is working to spread the word about the nationwide PWFA so every worker can have a smooth process getting the accommodations they need!
The White House panel, moderated by Latifa Lyles, Special Assistant to the President on Gender Policy, also featured EEOC Chair Charlotte Burrows, Jessica Looman, Principal Deputy Administrator of the DOL’s Wage & Hour Division, and MomsRising member To-wen Tseng. The panelists engaged in a robust discussion about the importance of these critical new rights for pregnant, postpartum, and lactating workers, with Chair Burrows calling the PWFA a “sea of change” for pregnant and postpartum workers.
We applaud the Biden-Harris Administration’s continued commitment to supporting working women and families, and thank the White House for hosting a celebration of these landmark new laws.
