The Center for WorkLife Law celebrates today’s enactment of the historic Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA).
Beginning today, June 27, 2023, employers with 15 or more employees are required to provide their employees with reasonable accommodations, when needed, for pregnancy and related conditions like childbirth recovery, postpartum depression, and lactation. With the new protections provided by PWFA, pregnant workers nationwide will finally have the right to workplace changes enabling their safety, health, and employment.
Before the PWFA became law, one quarter million women were denied their work accommodation requests each year. Without the workplace changes they needed, pregnant and postpartum employees were forced to choose between protecting their health or earning an income to provide for their family. Even requesting simple changes–like permission to carry a water bottle on the job or sit while working–cost employees their job. The devastating health and economic impacts harmed generations of working parents and their families, and hurt lower income workers the most.
After 25 years of assisting pregnant and postpartum employees through creative legal strategies, WorkLife Law is excited to have a single national law for workers and their employers to rely upon. We have been hard at work revising the materials on our Pregnant At Work online resource center to account for the new law:
- PWFA Explainer (created with the ACLU)
- Talking to Your Boss About Your BUMP, a know-your-rights and practical guide for employees (created with A Better Balance). Also available in Spanish.
- Abortion, Pregnancy Loss, and Your Rights at Work: FAQ
- Guidance for Healthcare Providers on How to Write Effective Work Accommodation Notes for pregnant, postpartum, and lactating employees
- Pregnancy Accommodations Explained catalogs reasons an employee may need a reasonable accommodation – ranging from serious medical conditions, to lactation, to workplace hazards – and identifies accommodations that may be responsive.
Workers and healthcare providers with questions about the new law and how to use it can contact our free legal helpline at hotline@worklifelaw.org (415) 703-8276.