This spring, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a press release that its Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) would be published in the Code of Federal Regulations in April and become effective in June. Now this fall, the EEOC has jumped full into the enforcement of the PWFA regulations with multiple enforcement lawsuits.

One claim involves a manufacturing company in the Northern District of Alabama. The EEOC describes this case as the manufacturer refusing to excuse an employee’s absence for pregnancy-related conditions, and medical appointments as well as requiring her to work mandatory overtime while pregnant. Apparently, the employee had been medically restricted from working more than 40 hours per week during her pregnancy. She was, however, assessed attendance points for pregnancy-related absences and was specifically told that she would be terminated if she had additional lost time.

Marsha Rucker, Regional Attorney for the EEOC’s Birmingham District, in filing the claim states, “It is also illegal under the PWFA to take adverse action against an employee requesting a reasonable accommodation related to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions of that employee. The EEOC will diligently pursue remedies for individuals whose employers denied them the protections that the PWFA offers.”

The PWFA provides for a wide array of accommodations for persons who are pregnant. In this case, what might be considered “basic” pregnancy...

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