Understanding the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) was passed in December 2022, along with the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, to increase protections for pregnant and breastfeeding workers. The law went into effect in 2023, and in June 2024 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commision (EEOC) released final regulations to provide greater guidance about what it means for employees and employers. Here’s an overview of what you need to know.
What is the PWFA?
The law requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide “reasonable accommodations” for conditions “related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions” (including lactation)—unless doing so would be an undue hardship. The PWFA builds upon the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that provided labor protections for pregnant employees by providing the right to workplace accommodations.
Who’s covered by the PWFA?
The federal law protects all employees (both private and public) regardless of the industry who work at organizations with 15 or more employees.
Do employees need to have worked a certain amount of time to be covered by the PWFA?
No. Employees are covered even if they have not worked for a specific employer for a specific length of time.
What counts as “reasonable accommodations” under the PWFA?
Under the PFWA, employers must accommodate an individual’s “known limitation” once it has been communicated to them (whether orally, in writing, or by the employee’s chosen representative). Reasonable accommodations can include extra bathroom breaks, additional breaks to eat or drink, or job-protected leave for perinatal/postpartum appointments or pregnancy-related illness. The PWFA provides examples of reasonable accommodations rather than outlining every use case.
Does the PWFA require documentation for accommodation requests?
Employers are not required to ask for supporting documentation and must accept an employee’s self-confirmation when a pregnancy is obvious or if they are requesting one of the four “predictable assessment” accommodations: 1) Allowing an employee to carry or keep water; 2) Permitting additional restroom breaks as needed; 3) Allowing an employee whose work requires standing to sit and whose work requires sitting to stand as needed; 4) Allowing breaks to eat and drink as needed. Employers must treat any documentation relating to a PWFA accommodation request as they do ADA documentation and keep them confidential and separate from the employee’s personnel file.
How does the PWFA differ from the PUMP Act?
The PWFA is a powerful companion to the federal PUMP Act, which requires employers to provide break time and a lactation space to pump at work, as it requires employers to provide additional accommodations to breastfeeding employees as needed—such as extra break time to eat and drink to support milk production or a temporary transfer from one work assignment to another. Notably, the PWFA also includes airline workers who are not currently covered under the PUMP Act.
Mamava designs solutions to empower breastfeeding and pumping parents on the go, like our freestanding lactation pods, Mamava’s lactation space locator app, and other helpful resources.
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