STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A national law that protects expecting and new parents in the workforce took effect this month — making it easier for millions of working parents to keep their jobs and livelihoods during crucial transitions in life.
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which went into effect on June 27, provides workers new rights to reasonable accommodations during or after pregnancy, such as flexible and modified schedules for pregnancy, childbirth recovery, lactation and related medical conditions; water breaks or rest breaks; temporary change in work duties; and more.
“At long last, pregnant and postpartum workers in every corner of the country now have a clear right to the accommodations they need to remain healthy and attached to the workforce,” said Dina Bakst, the co-founder and co-president for A Better Balance, an advocacy organization that spearheaded and led the movement. “This is an incredible moment for millions of workers, especially pregnant women and working moms in low-wage and physically demanding jobs, who have faced unimaginable economic hardship for needing modest accommodations to protect their health. From this day forward, pregnant and postpartum workers nationwide will be afforded fairness, dignity and equality under the law,.”
Congress introduced the PWFA in 2012 directly after Dina Bakst wrote an op-ed in The New York Times titled “Pregnant and Pushed Out of a Job.” A decade later, in 2022, A Better Balance, ParentsTogether and other organizations and allies mobilized to help get the law passed. President Biden signed it into law on December 29, 2022, marking a historic civil rights victory.
This groundbreaking law is one of the biggest wins for expecting and new parents in the workplace in decades.
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 was meant to provide these protections to pregnant workers already, but its vague language has made it hard to enforce. The American Disabilities Act also has been viewed as a…
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