The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) goes into effect today, June 27, 2023, and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is now accepting charges of discrimination under the PWFA for incidents that occurred June 27, 2023 or later. Read the EEOC’s news release here.

The PWFA requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations for qualified employees or applicants with known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless doing so would cause an undue hardship. For more information about the PWFA, see our previous article: What Employers Should Know About: Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.

The PWFA also requires the EEOC to issue compliance regulations within one year of its enactment on December 29, 2022. Therefore, the EEOC expects to issue its proposed rules, which will be subject to public comment, in the coming months. Until the final regulations are issued, employers are advised to review the educational resources provided by the EEOC and act in good faith to support workers and comply with the spirit of the PWFA.

Employers should also post the updated EEOC Know Your Rights poster as soon as possible, within a reasonable amount of time. For more information, see the Frequently Asked Questions.

The following are resources provided by the EEOC:
What You Should Know About the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
Pregnancy Discrimination and Pregnancy-Related Disability Discrimination