releases: https://axne.house.gov/media/press-releases/house-passes-axne-backed-bill-protect-pregnant-workers-rights
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://axne.house.gov/media/press-releases/house-passes-axne-backed-bill-protect-pregnant-workers-rights | House Passes Axne-Backed Bill to Protect Pregnant Workers’ Rights | 2020-09-17 | 2020 | 2020-09 | Democrat | House | IA | Cynthia Axne | A000378 | axne.house.gov | legacy | Today, Rep.Cindy Axne(IA-03) voted to advance legislation she co-sponsored to improve workplace protections and accommodations for pregnant workers. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act closes the gap in existing protections for pregnant employees by requiring employers to make reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers, ensuring that these workers can stay healthy and earn a living without facing discrimination or being forced to ignore medical advice. I remember the incredibly difficult balancing act that working mothers have to perform when pregnant on the job. We should not be forcing any expectingmothersto choose between ignoring their doctor's advice and losing their jobs because they are unable to get the reasonable accommodations that they need,said Rep. Axne.The existing federal legal measures in place protect expecting mothers are insufficient, and this bill would tighten the national standard to ensure that pregnant employees are treated appropriately and fairly in the workplace. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act would: Clarify that reasonable accommodations must be made by employers for workers who are limited by pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions. Protect pregnant workers from retaliation, coercion, intimidation, threats or interference if they request or use an accommodation. Provide an exemption for businesses if an accommodation imposes an undue hardship on an employer. Apply to employers with 15 or more employees and provide protections for both job applicants and employees. A study from 2013estimated that at least 250,000 pregnant women per year are denied a reasonable accommodation they need and request with many more potentially abstaining from any accommodation request entirely. Background: In 1978, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act was signed into law to protect against pregnancy discrimination in the workforce. But subsequent legal rulings interpreted these protects narrowly, allowing employers to refuse to accommodate medical needs related to a pregnancy. A2015 ruling inYoung v. UPSfurtherstated that a pregnant employee must demonstrate that they were denied an accommodation that was extended to an employee of similar limitation (e.g., cannot lift heavy objects or stand because of a back injury) in order to bring a lawsuit under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act an extremely difficult standard for plaintiffs to meet. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act updates that standard, requiring that reasonable accommodations must be provided to pregnant workers regardless of related precedent, provided the accommodation can be provided without undue hardship. Over thirty stateshave enacted rights to accommodation similar to the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act at the state level. Iowa isnot one of them. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |