Congress recently passed a $1.7 trillion bipartisan spending bill, which includes two laws – the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act) – designed to protect workers who are pregnant or breastfeeding. On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed the bill into law.

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is a bipartisan proposal to guarantee basic workplace protections for pregnant workers. The stated purpose of the PWFA is “[t]o eliminate discrimination and promote women’s health and economic security by ensuring reasonable workplace accommodations for workers whose ability to perform the functions of a job are limited by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition.”

Like the workplace accommodations available under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the PWFA requires employers with 15 or more employees to make reasonable accommodations for employees and job applicants with known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, enabling them to continue working while maintaining a healthy pregnancy. Although the PWFA currently does not provide a list of specific reasonable accommodations, such accommodations can potentially include: additional bathroom breaks, stools for workers who stand, limiting contact with certain chemicals, and reducing lifting requirements.

More specifically, the Act makes it unlawful for employers...

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