USA: When Will the Ball Drop? Still Waiting on the PWFA Final Regulations

By Katharine C. Weber, Joseph J. Lynett & Tara K. Burke on January 3, 2024

We rang in the new year waiting and watching for the issuance of the EEOC’s final regulations implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) received the text of the final regulations for review on December 27.  Assuming that the EEOC’s final regulations clear this review, we expect the regulations to be published in the Federal Register soon.

The PWFA was enacted almost exactly a year ago, on Dec. 29, 2022 and went into effect on June 27, 2023.  The Act requires employers with at least 15 employees provide reasonable accommodations, absent undue hardship, to qualified employees and applicants with known limitations related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. The Act required the EEOC to issue the regulations by December 29, 2023. The proposed regulations were published for public comment in the Federal Register on August 11, 2023. Over 100,000 public comments, including those from Jackson Lewis P.C., were submitted to the EEOC.

We are continuing to monitor and will report back when the final regulations are published.