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Finalized EEOC guidelines require employers to provide abortion accommodations
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released a final rule clarification to the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) last week, mandating that employers must make accommodations for women who get abortions.
The PWFA, which became law last June, stipulates that employers must offer workplace accommodations to pregnant women, including assistance such as time off for prenatal or postnatal appointments and recovery from childbirth, and accommodations related to seating, breaks for food, water and restroom needs, light duty, breastfeeding, and miscarriage. Now, with the EEOC’s final ruling, abortion is included in the act’s definition of “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions” — meaning employers have to offer “reasonable accommodations,” including time off, for women to get abortions.
The measure applies to all employers with more than 15 employees, so long that it does not pose an “undue hardship on the operation of the business of the covered entity.”
The EEOC did note that the stipulation does not require employers to pay for abortions. “With respect to abortion, the PWFA’s requirements are narrow and will likely concern only a request by a qualified employee for leave from work,” the commission said in a statement.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a statement Friday criticizing the Biden administration’s new rule.
“No employer should be forced to participate in an employee’s decision to end the life of their child,” said Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee for Religious Liberty.
“The bipartisan Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, as written, is a pro-life law that protects the security and physical health of pregnant mothers and their preborn children. It is indefensible for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to twist the law in a way that violates the consciences of pro-life employers by making them facilitate abortions. No employer should be forced to participate in an employee’s decision to end the life of their child.”
The new rule is set to take effect 60 days from its publication date, which was Friday, April 19.
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