Effective 6/27/23, the PWFA protects employees and applicants who have known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions; it applies only to accommodations. Existing laws that the EEOC enforces make it illegal to fire or otherwise discriminate against workers on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.

Reasonable accommodations are changes to the work environment or the way things are usually done at work. Some examples include:

• The ability to sit or drink water;
• Receive closer parking;
• Have flexible hours;
• Receive appropriately sized uniforms and safety apparel;
• Receive additional break time to use the bathroom, eat, and rest;
• Take leave or time off to recover from childbirth; and
• Be excused from strenuous activities and/or activities that involve exposure to compounds not safe for pregnancy.

Employers are required to provide reasonable accommodations unless they would cause an “undue hardship” on the employer’s operations. An “undue hardship” is significant difficulty or expense for the employer.

Employers may not:

• Require an employee to accept an accommodation without a discussion with the employee about the accommodation,
• Deny a job or other employment opportunities to a qualified employee or applicant based on the person's need for a reasonable accommodation,
• Require an employee to take leave if another reasonable accommodation can be provided that would let the employee keep working,
• Retaliate against an individual for reporting or opposing unlawful discrimination under the PWFA or participating in a PWFA proceeding (such as an investigation), or
• Interfere with any individual’s rights under the PWFA.