On April 19, 2024, EmployNews covered the EEOC's Final Regulations Implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which provided clarity to employers and workers about who is protected under the landmark statute, the types of limitations and medical conditions covered, and how individuals can request reasonable accommodations.
Notably, the regulations required employers to provide accommodations to employees who have abortions, despite that during the notice-and-comment period before the final rule was implemented, approximately half of the comments to the regulations asked the EEOC to exclude abortion from its definition of "[pregnancy]-related medical conditions."
Less than a week after the final regulations were announced by the EEOC, Republican attorneys general from 17 states filed a lawsuit challenging the legality of the final PWFA regulations. (The case is States of Tennessee, Arkansas et al. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and was filed in federal court in Arkansas.) The state attorneys general represent: Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia.
The lawsuit claims that the regulations go beyond the scope of the PWFA, which "could not be read to require employers to accommodate employees' abortions." Further, the challenge argues that the regulation "fundamentally infringes on the sovereignty of the States" because the states have prohibited or limited abortion with "rare exceptions."
Ultimately, the lawsuit asks the court to invalidate the regulations, and enter a preliminary injunction to enjoin the EEOC from enforcing or implementing the final rule's abortion accommodation pending final judgment by the court on the states' claims.
So, what does this legal challenge mean for employers? While the lawsuit casts uncertainty on the future of the EEOC's final PWFA regulations, until a court holds otherwise, employers are obligated to comply with the regulations and provide accommodations to employees who have abortions.
[View source.]
