New year, new protections for pregnant and nursing employees

In late December 2022, Congress passed—and President Joe Biden signed—a spending bill that included two laws expanding rights for pregnant and nursing employees. One of the laws, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for medical conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth.

The second law, the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers (PUMP) Act, requires that both hourly and salaried employees receive break time and a private place to pump at work. Let’s take a closer look.

Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

The PWFA’s reasonable accommodation requirements for pregnant employees mirror those required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Currently, under the ADA, employers are required to provide reasonable accommodations for medical conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth, but only if they also give such accommodations to workers with injuries or medical conditions.

The PWFA goes further, prohibiting employers from requiring employees with conditions related to pregnancy and/or childbirth to take paid or unpaid leave if another temporary reasonable workplace accommodation can be provided. It also prohibits employers from discriminating against job applicants or denying them jobs based on their pregnancy status.