March is Women’s History Month, lending itself to a review of the lessons learned over the last three years since enactment of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). While the guidance from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) provides some insight, employers regularly face accommodation requests falling within areas of lingering ambiguity. There are, however, some recent enforcement actions that may provide some clarity for navigating unchartered waters.

• The PWFA mandates that covered employers provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions.
• Since the PWFA went into effect, the EEOC has initiated several lawsuits alleging violations, focusing on failure to accommodate, unlawful termination, and forced leave for pregnancy-related conditions. Most have resulted in settlements, while others remain pending.
• The EEOC received 2,729 charges of discrimination alleging violation of the PWFA for fiscal year 2024, which represents the period of October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024. Fiscal year 2024 represents the first full year of the EEOC’s enforcement of the PWFA.

The PWFA went into effect on June 27, 2023, for employers with fifteen or more employees. The EEOC’s final rule implementing the PWFA became effective on June 18, 2024. The final rule leans on the concepts of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with which employers are likely familiar, including the definitions for key terms, such as “...

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