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| Long title | To eliminate discrimination and promote women's health and economic security by ensuring reasonable workplace accommodations for workers whose ability to perform the functions of a job are limited by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition. |
|---|---|
| Announced in | the117th United States Congress |
| Effective | June 27, 2023 |
| Number of co-sponsors | 228 |
| Citations | |
| Public law | Pub. L. 117–328 (text)(PDF), Division II |
| Legislative history | |
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ThePregnant Workers Fairness Act is aUnited States law meant to eliminate discrimination and ensure workplace accommodations for workers with known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition.[1] It applies to employers having fifteen or more employees.[2] Originally a stand-alone bill first introduced in 2012, the bill was included as Division II of theConsolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, which was passed by Congress on December 27, 2022, and signed by PresidentJoe Biden on December 29, 2022.[1] The bill went into force on June 27, 2023.
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act was first introduced in theHouse of Representatives on May 8, 2012, byRep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY)[3] following the publication of a January 2012New York Times op-ed, "Pregnant, and Pushed Out of a Job."[4]
In 2014, theSenate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee held a hearing, "Economic Security for Working Women: A Roundtable Discussion," in which several witnesses discussed the need for the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.[5] In 2019 the House of RepresentativesEducation & Labor Committee held the first-ever dedicated hearing on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act entitled "Long Over Due: Exploring the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act." Witnesses included CongressmanJerry Nadler, Michelle Durham, an Alabama mother who was denied pregnancy accommodations, Iris Wilbur, then-Vice President ofGreater Louisville Inc., Dina Bakst, Co-Founder & Co-President ofA Better Balance, and Ellen McLaughlin, a partner atSeyfarth Shaw LLP.[6]
In September 2020, the bill passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 329–73.[7] In March 2021, the House of Representatives Education & Labor Committee held a hearing entitled "Fighting for Fairness: Examining Legislation to Confront Workplace Discrimination," with a focus on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, among other pieces of workplace legislation.[8] In May 2021, the House of Representatives voted to pass the bill by a vote of 315–101.[9] In August 2021, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee voted to pass the bill out of Committee by a vote of 19–2.[10]
The text of the bill was inserted by the Senate into theConsolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, which was passed by Congress on December 27, 2022.
As of 22 December 2022[update]:
| Congress | Short title | Bill number(s) | Date introduced | Sponsor(s) | # of cosponsors | Latest status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 112th Congress | Pregnant Workers Fairness Act of 2012 | H.R. 5647 | May 8, 2012 | Jerry Nadler (D-NY) | 112 | Died in committee |
| S. 3565 | August 19, 2012 | Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA) | 9 | Died in committee | ||
| 113th Congress | Pregnant Workers Fairness Act of 2013 | H.R. 1975 | May 14, 2013 | Jerry Nadler (D-NY) | 142 | Died in committee |
| S. 942 | May 14, 2013 | Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA) | 33 | Died in committee | ||
| 114th Congress | Pregnant Workers Fairness Act of 2015 | H.R. 2654 | June 4, 2015 | Jerry Nadler (D-NY) | 149 | Died in committee |
| S. 1512 | June 4, 2015 | Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA) | 31 | Died in committee | ||
| 115th Congress | Pregnant Workers Fairness Act of 2017 | H.R. 2417 | May 11, 2017 | Jerry Nadler (D-NY) | 131 | Died in committee |
| S. 1101 | May 11, 2017 | Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA) | 27 | Died in committee | ||
| 116th Congress | Pregnant Workers Fairness Act of 2019 | H.R. 1112 | May 14, 2019 | Jerry Nadler (D-NY) | 241 | Passed in the House (329–73).[11] |
| 117th Congress | Pregnant Workers Fairness Act of 2021 | H.R. 1065 | February 15, 2021 | Jerry Nadler (D-NY) | 228 | Passed in the House (315–101).[12] |
| S.1486 | April 29, 2021 | Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA) | 40 | Referred to the committees of jurisdiction. |
Specifically, the bill declares that it is an unlawful employment practice to:
Texas's attorney generalKen Paxton challenged the PWFA along with an additional budget item within the 2023 consolidated budget bill. At the time the bill was passed, the U.S. House of Representatives was operating with allowance for remote voting, a practice developed from theCOVID-19 pandemic. Paxton's lawsuit that the passage of the PWFA and the additional budget item were invalid since with the remote votes, there was not a sufficientquorum of representatives present to pass the bill, as set inArticle One of the United States Constitution. JudgeJames Wesley Hendrix of theUnited States District Court for the Northern District of Texas ruled in February 2024 that while the other budget item could not be challenged, that there was an insufficient quorum for the PWFA to be enacted, issuing an injunction from the law being enforced in Texas.[14] The ruling was appealed to theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which ruled in August 2025 that the use of remote voting did not violate the quorum clause, lifting the injunction and allowing PWFA to be enforced in Texas.[15]
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This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theUnited States government.
