Legal Challenge to EEOC's Final Rule on PWFA

We recently informed you in a prior blog of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) expansive Final Rule concerning the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). As part of this Final Rule, Employers with fifteen or more employees are required to provide reasonable accommodations to their Employees as these accommodations apply to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. What has proved to be a controversial decision, the EEOC included having an abortion and choosing not to have an abortion within the definition of “related medical conditions.”  As a result, on Thursday, April 25, 2024, seventeen states have filed a lawsuit against the EEOC, challenging the addition of abortion in the Final Rule.  These seventeen states include: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia.  The Complaint was spearheaded and filed by the Tennessee and Arkansas Attorneys General and challenges the Final Rule on Administrative Procedure Act grounds. The seventeen states have also asked the court to stay the implementation of the Final Rule and halt its enforcement pending legal review.  Specifically, the Complaint cites the states’ burdensome cost of compliance with the revamped PWFA and infringement upon their state sovereignty.  We will keep you updated as more information becomes available.

For questions regarding the EEOC’s Final Rule or any other labor and employment matter, please contact any of the attorneys at Hoffman & Hlavac. To stay updated on key labor and employment law developments that affect your workplace, be sure to subscribe to this blog and follow us on social media!