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Articles Posted in Pregnancy

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Join us today at Noon ET for The Employer Handbook Zoom Happy Hour to discuss the EEOC’s Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Final Rule

You can still register here to join us today, April 19, 2024, at Noon ET. Along with my partner, Amy Epstein Gluck, I will discuss the final rule that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency tasked with enforcing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), released earlier this week.…

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The EEOC has issued its final rules on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. So, let’s Zoom on Friday, April 19, 2024 at Noon ET.

At long last, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency tasked with enforcing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), has issued a final rule to implement the new law. The PWFA requires private employers with 15 or more employees (and Congress, Federal agencies, employment agencies, and labor organizations)…

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An employer settled claims it refused to accommodate a pregnant worker who then miscarried

“Miscarriages can be personally devastating. No one should have to choose between getting the pregnancy care they need and losing a job.” That quote comes from a senior U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission trial attorney as part of a press release announcing a settlement of pregnancy and disability discrimination claims…

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No, getting fired after telling a supervisor you are pregnant is not retaliation. Or is it?

No, it isn’t. I know this because, among other things, I read this Fifth Circuit decision last night after the Philadelphia Eagles beat the New England Patriots. The plaintiff, a pharmacy technician, was pregnant when her employer hired her. Then, she chose to disclose her pregnancy to her supervisor a…

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Here’s something you might not have known about the new federal pregnancy accommodation law.

Yesterday, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency tasked with enforcing the new Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), released proposed regulations for public comments. 275 pages of them. But I only needed the first eight or so to realize that the PWFA, which requires covered employers to…

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Starting today, most of your workers have new, federal pregnancy-related employment protections

Today, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act takes effect. The Act requires private employers with 15 or more employees (and Congress, Federal agencies, employment agencies, and labor organizations) to make reasonable accommodations for workers affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions unless the employer can demonstrate that doing so would…

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400,000 reasons not to have this pregnancy policy in your workplace

Yesterday, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced (here) that an employer will fork over $400,000, split among 11 women, stemming from a written policy that violates both the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. According to the EEOC’s complaint it filed in federal court in 2021,…

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This employee apparently doesn’t understand how pregnancy discrimination works

I won’t bury the lede. Here’s the takeaway from this post. If an employer doesn’t know that an employee is pregnant, it can’t possibly discriminate against her because she is pregnant. That’s pretty much what happened in this 11th Circuit decision that I read last night. Here are the pertinent…

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Protections for pregnant workers and new moms are coming as part of new federal government funding

Last week, while many of you were in your offices with the doors closed, pretending to work before the holiday break, the Senate and House passed an omnibus spending package incorporating two separate pieces of legislation to protect pregnant workers and new moms. Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Introduced in May,…

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If you’re new to HR, check out this new EEOC pregnancy and pregnancy-related disability discrimination resource

Credit: Office of Commissioner Andrea R. Lucas Late last week, as I enjoyed the FisherBroyles partner retreat (responsibly-ish) in Nashville, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released a new resource on pregnancy discrimination. Spoiler alert: The Dallas Cowboys won’t make the playoffs this season resource doesn’t contain any game-changing new…