White House issues worker protections for pregnancy termination

Source: Roll Call

Posted April 15, 2024 at 8:41pm


The Biden administration Monday issued regulations enforcing worker protections for women who have had abortions, miscarriages or fertility issues that require time off work, despite heavy Republican opposition to the move.

The regulation from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission implements congressional legislation that requires certain employers to offer reasonable accommodations to pregnant and postpartum employees. The rule clarifies that the commission includes abortion in its definition of “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions” covered by the law.

The bill, known as the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, was passed in 2022 as part of the fiscal 2023 appropriations law. The regulations are the final rules to carry out the law’s provisions.

House Democrats encouraged the administration to include abortion, miscarriage and fertility issues as a “related medical condition,” but received pushback from Republicans on Capitol Hill. The Democrats argued that a 1978 law preventing discrimination on the basis of pregnancy includes abortion and pregnancy termination as a medical condition related to pregnancy, so that should apply to the new law.

Read more: https://rollcall.com/2024/04/15/white-house-issues-worker-protections-for-pregnancy-termination/