With the aim to secure the interests and rights of pregnant and postpartum employees, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is set to publish its proposed regulations on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) on August 11, 2023. This comes after the PWFA came into effect on June 27, 2023.
These upcoming regulations reflect the EEOC’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that employees do not experience unreasonable hardship or difficulty in maintaining their employment during pregnancy or in the postpartum period. The PWFA was designed with these circumstances in mind and serves to underline the importance of fair treatment and employee rights for pregnant and recent mothers.
Details of the proposed regulations will be unveiled once they are made public in the Federal Register. In keeping with the goals of the PWFA, it is anticipated that these guidelines will offer much-needed clarity and outline employer obligations to maintain fair working conditions for pregnant and postpartum workers.
For more in-depth information related to this topic, please refer to this comprehensive report by Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart.