Today, the Eighth Circuit reversed a lower court’s dismissal of the challenge by 17 red state Attorney Generals to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) regulations implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. In particular, the states challenged the EEOC’s lawful decision to interpret the PWFA as requiring employers to provide workers with reasonable accommodations to obtain end-of-pregnancy care, including abortion-related care.
The following is a statement from Inimai Chettiar, President of A Better Balance:
“The PWFA protects workers during pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, which have long been understood by the EEOC and the Courts to include lactation, miscarriage, fertility care, and abortion. The decision by the Eight Circuit to allow the challenge to the EEOC’s regulations for the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act to proceed in spite of all existing legal precedent is outrageous and without standing. The case was thrown out by the lower court for good reason, and while this is a setback, we are confident that this case will once again be tossed.
Workers in need of an abortion should not be discriminated against or forced off the job because of a need for vital health care. Attacks on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act are attacks on women’s health, economic security, and reproductive choice.
We hope that newly-appointed Attorney General Bondi and the Department of Justice will appeal and defend the law, but this remains to be seen.
A Better Balance is working around the clock to defend this law that we fought so hard to pass. We won’t stand by as these vital protections for women and all pregnant people are undermined. Workers should know that the PWFA is still in effect and if they have questions, they can call A Better Balance’s free, confidential legal helpline at 1-833-NEED-ABB.”
