(New York, N.Y.) The following is a statement from Dina Bakst, Co-Founder & Co-President of A Better Balance:
“Today’s overwhelmingly bipartisan Senate committee approval of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act brings us one step closer in the fight to achieve justice and equality for pregnant workers and new mothers who have been treated like second class citizens under the law for far too long.
Since first launching the movement for the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act in 2012, we have worked with thousands of expecting mothers at A Better Balance, overwhelmingly low-income workers and women of color, who have been denied accommodations and forced off the job—suffering devastating economic and health consequences as a result. For nearly a decade, we have been leading the charge to combat this horrific mistreatment, alongside so many brave women who have spoken out, to pass this urgently needed legislation. In the midst of a global pandemic that has forced millions of women out of work, putting a stop to the care crisis and building back better means finally guaranteeing fair and equal treatment for pregnant workers and new mothers.
We thank Senators Casey, Cassidy, Murray, and Burr for honoring pregnant workers and their steadfast leadership and urge the full Senate to listen to pregnant workers and act swiftly to pass the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and send it to the President’s desk. It is long overdue.”
ABOUT A BETTER BALANCE’S LEADERSHIP ON THE PREGNANT WORKERS FAIRNESS ACT: A Better Balance uses the power of the law to advance justice for workers caring for themselves and their loved ones. In 2012, A Better Balance launched the movement for the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Since then, we have been a leader in drafting and advancing the federal PWFA and in moving bipartisan state pregnancy accommodations bills. A Better Balance Co-Founder and Co-President Dina Bakst has testified twice in Congress in support of the legislation, first in 2019 and then in March 2021. A Better Balance’s legal analysis and direct support of pregnant women have been central to making the case for the PWFA. Our Long Overdue report found that that two thirds of women have lost their pregnancy accommodation claims since 2015 under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and lifted up the countless women who are suffering because of the gaps in our federal laws.
