Biden crams abortion into Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

The Biden administration inserted abortion-related accommodations Monday into regulations governing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, even though lawmakers said the law specifically excluded any reference to abortion at its passage in 2022.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released the final rule adding abortion to the law’s workforce protections for “pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions,” prompting accusations that the administration flouted the law’s legislative intent to push its pro-choice agenda.

“The PWFA does not apply to abortions. The term ‘abortion’ is not once mentioned in the law,” said Rep. Virginia Foxx, chairwoman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, in a statement.

“Instead of following congressional intent, the Biden administration is using the regulatory process to advance radical policy goals,” she said. “This isn’t surprising given the administration’s predilection for abusing the Constitution.”

Under the final rule, workers may ask for time off and other accommodations for abortions as well as pregnancies.

The North Carolina Republican called the abortion provision “wrong. Period. Abortion is not a medical condition related to pregnancy; it is the opposite.”

Sen. Bill Cassidy, Louisiana Republican and the bill’s Senate cosponsor, previously accused the administration of going rogue, saying that the “legislation originally passed with overwhelmingly bipartisan support with the intent that abortion would not be included.”

The proposed rule drew more than 100,000 comments, most of which reportedly mentioned abortion, but the EEOC said nothing about adding elective pregnancy termination to the law in its Monday announcement.

The final regulation offers examples of “reasonable accommodations” for workers, including time off to take bathroom breaks, attend doctors’ appointments, and “recover from childbirth or a miscarriage, among others.”

The updated rule also provides a clarification emphasizing that “an employer is not required to seek supporting documentation when an employee asks for a reasonable accommodation and should only do so when it is reasonable under the circumstances.”

“At the EEOC, we have assisted women who have experienced serious health risks and unimaginable loss simply because they could not access a reasonable accommodation on the job,” said EEOC Chair Charlotte Burrows.

“This final rule provides important information and guidance to help employers meet their responsibilities, and to jobseekers and employees about their rights,” she said. “It encourages employers and employees to communicate early and often, allowing them to identify and resolve issues in a timely manner.”

Praising the rule was the Center for WorkLife Law, an advocacy group affiliated with the University of California College of the Law San Francisco. The center said the update expands pregnancy and recovery time to those ineligible under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

“Employees who need changes at work due to lactation, abortion, menstruation, and infertility also have protections under PWFA,” said the center. “Ultimately, these protections will enable more workers to earn an income to support their families without being forced to sacrifice their reproductive health.”

The Alliance Defending Freedom raised concerns about the updated rule’s impact on religious employers.

“This rule is just the latest example of the Biden administration abusing its power to advance abortion,” said ADF Senior Counsel Julie Marie Blake. “The new rule seeks to punish the speech of pro-life employers and restrict their hiring practices. The Biden administration and the EEOC don’t have the legal authority to smuggle this illegitimate rule into a law that was created to protect and support women and that had nothing to do with abortion.”

The law applies to most employers with 15 or more workers. The new regulations are scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on April 19 and will take effect 60 days later.