Passage of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA)—the almost 2-year-old landmark civil rights law that affords pregnant and postpartum workers an explicit right to reasonable workplace accommodations to protect their help and keep their jobs—is at once a lesson in and laboratory for participatory democracy.
Bipartisan, pro-family and boldly feminist, the PWFA codifies crucial protections for workers with pregnancy-related limitations—especially for women in low-wage jobs and women of color—and ensures they are treated with dignity and fairness. But today, efforts to enforce and advance vital reforms envisioned by the PWFA now must be met with a vigorous defense to protect the law from antidemocratic attacks.
Today, A Better Balance and vanguard feminist publication Ms. Magazine launched “The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Is Essential to Democracy” (the latest installment in Ms.‘s Women & Democracy series), exploring the PWFA’s decade-long fight for passage, its impact, and the legal and organizing strategies shaping its future.
One thing is certain: efforts to enforce and advance vital reforms envisioned by the PWFA must be met with a vigorous defense to protect the law from antidemocratic attacks. Through a collection of essays and video and podcast content, Ms. highlights organizing strategies, especially in the South, that will guide the PWFA’s future, and spotlights an array of voices—from impacted workers, to litigators defending the PWFA—to illustrate the vast civic effort making the PWFA a reality for millions.
Workers in need of information of their rights under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act can learn more from A Better Balance’s Know Your Rights guide or contact the organization’s free, confidential legal helpline.
A Better Balance is the organization that launched and led the decade long movement to pass the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
Women & Democracy is Ms. magazine’s online forum that focuses on key issues impacting full and fair representation in our democracy. Ms. teams up with leading advocacy organizations to provide expert content and release a new installment each quarter; past partners have included the Brennan Center for Justice, Center for Reproductive Rights, International Women’s Media Foundation, Represent Women, and Supermajority, among others.
