In a significant push to enforce the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has recently taken legal action against multiple employers for alleged violations of the new law.

The PWFA, which went into effect in June 2023, requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to workers affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, similar to the accommodations provided to employees with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The series of actions by the EEOC in September highlights the agency’s commitment to protecting the rights of pregnant workers under the Act.

“No pregnant worker should have to choose between their health and earning a living to support their family,” said EEOC General Counsel Karla Gilbride in a statement announcing the suits. “The PWFA requires that when an employee needs a modification at work because of their pregnancy or a related condition and the employer becomes aware of that need, the two must work together to try to find a solution. When employers apply inflexible policies that drive pregnant workers out of the workplace rather than engaging in this interactive process, the EEOC will step in to defend workers’ rights under this new law.”

Details of PWFA suits

On September 26, the EEOC announced lawsuits against two companies — an office furniture company in Indiana and a trucking company in Missouri — for allegedly violating the PWFA.

The EEOC argued that both companies failed to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant employees, as required under the law. In these cases, the employers allegedly refused requests for light duty and other modifications that would have allowed the employees to continue working safely during their pregnancies.

One lawsuit was filed against Boone Hospital Center, where a pregnant nurse sought modified duties after experiencing pregnancy-related health conditions, including hypertension.

The EEOC alleges that the hospital denied her request for light duty and instead forced her onto unpaid leave.

Similarly, the EEOC sued J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc., claiming that it refused to accommodate a pregnant employee working in the warehouse division. The employee had requested modified lifting requirements and additional breaks to manage pregnancy-related complications. Instead of adjusting her duties, the company allegedly forced her to take leave, despite her ability to continue working with minor accommodations.

The EEOC claims that this refusal violated the PWFA’s requirement that employers provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant employees unless doing so would cause undue hardship to the business.

First-ever suit under the law

These actions come on the heels of the EEOC’s first-ever lawsuit under the PWFA, filed against Wabash National Corporation earlier in September.

In that suit, Wabash denied a pregnant employee’s accommodation request to transfer to a role that did not require lying on her stomach. Instead, the company forced her to take unpaid leave, and she had to return to her position without modification.

The company’s decision to deny the accommodation request caused her to fear for the health of her pregnancy, the EEOC said, and she was forced to resign when she was nearly eight months pregnant.

In response to her request, the EEOC alleged that the company unlawfully required medical documentation, and failed to provide an accommodation even though it could have provided changes similar to those it provides for non-pregnant workers with similar limitations.

Conciliation reached in one case

In addition to these lawsuits, the EEOC successfully reached a conciliation agreement with ABC Pest Control, Inc., resolving a PWFA charge filed against the company.

According to the EEOC, ABC Pest Control was accused of failing to provide accommodations to a pregnant employee who needed modified job duties. Under the conciliation agreement, the company agreed to revise its policies, train its employees on the requirements of the PWFA, and provide the necessary accommodations to the affected employee.