By Bob Katzen
The House 150-0, Senate 38-0, approved the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act that prohibits an employer from discriminating against, refusing to employ or firing a woman because she is pregnant or has a condition related to pregnancy.
The measure guarantees reasonable accommodations and safety measures for pregnant mothers. Reasonable accommodations include time off to recover from childbirth; more frequent, longer paid or unpaid breaks; acquiring or modifying equipment or seating arrangements; and a private non-bathroom space for expressing breast milk — unless any of these would create an undue hardship on the employer.
It’s interesting to see this 2018 piece on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, especially the breakdown of what “reasonable accommodations” actually covers — extra breaks, seating changes, and a private space for nursing mothers. Those details matter more than the vote totals. The part about undue hardship on employers feels like the real sticking point in practice. I sometimes wonder how these workplace protections get communicated to small teams. Saw something related about Turn content into a branded app the other day.