The agency’s April 2024 final rule implementing the statute was not as widely applauded. Now that the EEOC has formally announced plans to revise that rule, employers should expect a narrower regulatory definition of what the PWFA covers. Employers need to read beyond headlines declaring protections will be rolled back and not expect any slowdown in enforcement on behalf of pregnant and newly postpartum workers who require basic accommodations to keep working.
Quick Hits
- The EEOC plans to revise its 2024 PWFA rule, with a proposal expected in November 2026 that may narrow the list of “related medical conditions” eligible for accommodation. The proposed rule may also broaden religious exemptions for employers, and may look at the definition of “near future.”
- A revised rule does not mean less enforcement. The EEOC continues to file actions to vindicate rights under the PWFA and its implementing regulations.
- Employers may want to consider training managers and human resources professionals on the PWFA, keeping clear and documented accommodation processes, and reviewing their policies.
Chair Lucas’s Dissent From the 2024 Final Rule
Then-Commissioner Lucas voted to disapprove the final rule on April 3, 2024. While she supported elements of the rule, she concluded that it “purports to broaden the scope of the statute in ways that … cannot reasonably be reconciled with the text.” In her words:
“At a high level, the rule fundamentally errs in conflating pregnancy and childbirth accommodation with accommodation of the female sex, that is, female biology and reproduction. The Commission extends the new accommodation requirements to reach virtually every condition, circumstance, or procedure that relates to any aspect of the female reproductive system.”
Her statement specifically criticized the rule’s definition of “pregnancy” as including “past pregnancy” and “potential or intended pregnancy (which can include infertility, fertility treatment, and the use of contraception),” warning that it “opens the door to requiring accommodations potentially extending to a myriad of conditions ranging from infertility to menstruation to hormone issues to menopause.” As she put it, “This is the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act after all, not the Female Workers Fairness Act.” In her view, the PWFA covers the limitations of an employee’s actual, specific pregnancy and childbirth, plus medical conditions caused or worsened by that pregnancy or childbirth.
In early 2025, as acting chair, Lucas reiterated her opposition to the rule’s construction of “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.” She noted, however, that the Office of the Chair could not rescind or modify a final rule on its own under the Administrative Procedure Act.
The Inclusion of Elective Abortion as a Related Medical Condition Has Already Been Vacated
On May 21, 2025, in Louisiana v. EEOC, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana vacated portions of the final rule that treated so-called “elective abortion” as a “related medical condition” and that required, or suggested that employers provide, accommodations for abortions not necessary to treat a medical condition related to pregnancy. The court sent the rule back to the EEOC for revision. The decision to have or not have an abortion remains protected under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act.
The EEOC’s Announced Revisions
With its quorum restored, the EEOC has now placed “Revisions to the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Regulations” (RIN 3046-AB36) on the Unified Agenda at the proposed rule stage, designated as “economically significant.” The agenda entry states:
“The EEOC proposes to revise its existing regulations implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) that requires covered entities to provide reasonable accommodations to a qualified worker’s known limitations related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation will cause an undue hardship. Among other revisions, the EEOC proposes revising language in the regulations regarding the interpretation of the words ‘pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.’”
The agenda projects a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in November 2026, with comments due in January 2027. The proposal has not yet been published. Given Chair Lucas’s stated views, however, the EEOC can be expected to propose removing infertility, menstruation, use of birth control, and past pregnancy from the regulatory scope of “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions” and to tie coverage to an employee’s current pregnancy or childbirth, and the conditions caused or exacerbated by them. Until a revised rule is final, the 2024 rule stays in effect, minus the vacated abortion provisions.
The Core Obligation to Accommodate Pregnant and Newly Postpartum Workers Remains
Employers should not mistake a narrower definition for a retreat from enforcement. Chair Lucas has applauded the passage of the PWFA and has been clear that its core purpose is ensuring that pregnant women receive the “minor, simple, temporary accommodations” that help them keep working and stay in the workplace. The EEOC’s recent litigation and conciliation activity shows the agency is acting on that purpose. A common thread runs through these cases: the EEOC is targeting employers that fail to provide straightforward accommodations, fail to consider leave as an accommodation, direct pregnant workers to unpaid leave, apply rigid attendance or leave policies, deny pregnant workers access to light-duty assignments given to those with work-related injuries, or discharge workers after they ask for accommodation.
The following is a sampling of recent EEOC pregnancy matters:
- October 2026 settlement. An employee with pregnancy-related complications was allegedly told the company did not provide accommodations for pregnancy when she asked for an accommodation of a lifting restriction. She was then put on unpaid leave and was subsequently discharged. Outcome: The company agreed to pay $245,000 and entered into a two-year consent decree requiring PWFA accommodation procedures, manager and HR training, and reporting to the EEOC.
- September 2026 lawsuit. The EEOC brought suit against a nonprofit employer that allegedly refused to accommodate a temporary twenty-pound lifting restriction even though it routinely gave light duty to other employees with similar restrictions. Instead, it placed the employee on leave and fired her when that leave ran out shortly before her due date.
- September 2026 conciliation. An electronic equipment company allegedly reassigned a pregnant worker to operate machinery that used X-ray radiation, then terminated her employment rather than return her to her original role after her doctor said she should avoid radiation. The EEOC conciliated the charge, and the employer agreed to pay back pay, as well as undertake policy, recordkeeping, training, and reporting obligations.
- September 2026 conciliation. A nightclub and bar allegedly stopped scheduling a pregnant employee who had no medical restrictions and refused to consider reassignment. The EEOC conciliated the charge, and the employer agreed to pay back pay, as well as adhere to policy, recordkeeping, training, and reporting obligations.
- August 2026 class lawsuit. The EEOC brought suit against a manufacturer that allegedly refused light duty for pregnancy-related lifting restrictions while giving light duty for on-the-job injuries. One employee was allegedly told her doctor’s note was “not good enough” and was discharged from employment the next day. The employer also allegedly denied nursing mothers adequate break time and private space to pump.
- July 2026 lawsuit. The EEOC brought suit against a toy manufacturer that allegedly refused to excuse pregnancy-related absences under its attendance policy. The company also allegedly denied requests to sit briefly between assemblies, take more frequent breaks (e.g., restroom breaks and breaks to eat and drink), and avoid highly strenuous assemblies.
What Employers Can Do Now
Whatever the revised rule eventually provides regarding accommodations for infertility, contraception, or menstruation, the EEOC has indicated it is interested in enforcing the core of the PWFA: current pregnancies and recent childbirth. Employers may want to consider the following:
- Training managers and HR professionals on the PWFA. In recent EEOC litigation matters, frontline managers who refused accommodation requests outright or failed to recognize them have come into focus. EEOC officials have publicly said that many employers still have not adequately trained on the PWFA.
- Maintaining a clear accommodation process. Documenting requests, engaging in the interactive process promptly, and tracking outcomes can be beneficial. Several recent resolutions required exactly these recordkeeping mechanisms.
- Not defaulting to a leave solution. The PWFA prohibits requiring an employee to take leave when another reasonable accommodation would have let her keep working.
- Evaluating leave under the PWFA as an accommodation independent of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). An employee who is not FMLA-eligible may still be entitled to leave under the PWFA for a pregnancy-related condition or for recovery from childbirth.
- Reviewing light-duty and attendance policies. Policies that offer light duty only for workplace injuries, or that assess points for pregnancy-related absences, have been recurring targets.
- PUMP Act requirements and PWFA lactation accommodations. Break time and private space to express milk for nursing infants remain enforcement priorities for both the U.S. Department of Labor (as entitlements under the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act) and the EEOC (for accommodations under the PWFA).
- Monitoring the rulemaking. Watch for the NPRM and consider submitting comments during the comment period.
Ogletree Deakins’ Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Compliance Practice Group and Leaves of Absence/Reasonable Accommodation Practice Group will continue to monitor the EEOC’s rulemaking and enforcement activity and will provide updates on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Compliance, Employment Law, and Leaves of Absence blogs as additional information becomes available.
Follow and Subscribe
LinkedIn | Instagram | Webinars | Podcasts
