A federal district court judge in Louisiana struck down portions of an EEOC rule that required companies to provide reasonable accommodations under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) to employees who choose to have an abortion.
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: Passed with bipartisan support in 2022, the PWFA requires employers to provide reasonable accommodation for medical conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth. The law did not include abortion as a qualifying condition, but it directed the EEOC to issue regulations outlining the scope of covered conditions and additional requirements.
The EEOC rules: The EEOC’s final rules, which went into effect in June 2024, established a broad range of qualifying pregnancy-related medical conditions and procedures eligible for reasonable accommodation, including abortion. The inclusion of abortion triggered a wave of lawsuits claiming that the EEOC exceeded its authority under the statute and violated religious freedom protections.
The decision: Judge David Joseph of the Western District of Louisiana found that the EEOC overstepped its authority under the statute and ordered the Commission to remove the abortion provision from the rules.
-
Current acting EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas went on record earlier this year expressing her desire to amend the rules to remove the abortion provision. In 2024, while serving as an EEOC Commissioner during the Biden administration, she voted against the rules on this basis.
The bottom line: The decision means that employers are no longer legally required to reasonably accommodate employees choosing to have an abortion under the PWFA. While a future EEOC could reinstate those requirements, they would risk the same fate unless Congress amends the legislation to specifically include abortion as a qualifying condition, which is unlikely.
