Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) Social Media Toolkit – April 2024

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a final rule to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), providing important information to support the ability of workers with limitations due to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions to work and stay healthy. It also provides guidance to help employers understand and comply with their duties under the law and retain talent. 

Help EEOC inform employers and workers nationwide about the new law and a worker’s right to request accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Included below are graphics, sample captions, links, and suggested accounts to tag.

Alt text: Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) Protections for employees experiencing limitations due to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. www.EEOC.gov	Alt text: Pregnant Workers Fairness Act  New Resources www.EEOC.gov/Pregnancy-Discrimination

Sample Posts:

• #NEW PWFA final rule and guidance provides detailed information and clarity to employers and workers about who is covered under the law, the types of limitations and medical conditions covered, and examples of reasonable accommodations. [LINK TO RELEASE] 
  #PWFA #Pregnant #Expecting
• Pregnant or just given birth, and need changes at work to help you stay healthy and keep working? The PWFA can help! https://www.eeoc.gov/wysk/what-you-should-know-about-pregnant-workers-fairness-act
  
  #PWFA #Pregnant #Expecting

• #DYK? If you have a limitation due to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition that makes it harder to do your job, a new law says you can ask your employer for a change at work, such as: 

  • extra bathroom breaks
  • a chair to sit on while you work
  • time off for health care appointments

  See other examples and learn more about the law:
  https://www.eeoc.gov/wysk/what-you-should-know-about-pregnant-workers-fairness-act #PWFA #Pregnant #Expecting

• The EEOC has issued its Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) final rule and updated resources. The PWFA requires most employers with 15 or more employees to provide “reasonable accommodations,” or changes at work, for a worker’s known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation will cause the employer an undue hardship.

  The final rule provides important information for employers and workers including:

  1. Numerous examples of reasonable accommodations such as additional breaks to drink water, eat, or use the restroom; a stool to sit on while working; time off for health care appointments; temporary reassignment; temporary suspension of certain job duties; telework; or time off to recover from childbirth or a miscarriage, among others. 
  2. Guidance regarding limitations and medical conditions for which employees or applicants may seek reasonable accommodation, including miscarriage or still birth; migraines; lactation; and pregnancy-related conditions that are episodic, such as morning sickness. This guidance is based on Congress’s PWFA statutory language, the EEOC’s longstanding definition of “pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions” from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and court decisions interpreting the term “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions from Title VII. 
  3. Guidance encouraging early and frequent communication between employers and workers to raise and resolve requests for reasonable accommodation in a timely manner.
  4. Clarification that an employer is not required to seek supporting documentation when an employee asks for a reasonable accommodation and should only do so when it is reasonable under the circumstances. 
  5. Explanation of when an accommodation would impose an undue hardship on an employer and its business. 
  6. Information on how employers may assert defenses or exemptions, including those based on religion, as early as possible in charge processing. 
• More information about the PWFA and the EEOC’s final rule, including resources for employers and workers, is available on the EEOC’s “What You Should Know about the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act” webpage.

Hashtags:

• #PWFA, #Pregnancy, #Expecting

Accounts to tag:

• EEOC: X (formerly Twitter): @USEEOC | LinkedIn: EEOC | Facebook: U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission | Instagram: @USEEOC

PWFA Resources:

https://www.eeoc.gov/wysk/what-you-should-know-about-pregnant-workers-fairness-act