Judge vacates federal rules requiring employers to provide accommodations for abortions

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday struck down regulations requiring most U.S. employers to provide workers with time off and other accommodations for abortions.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge David Joseph of the Western District of Louisiana was a victory for conservative lawmakers and religious groups who decried the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s decision to include abortion among pregnancy-related conditions in regulations on how to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which passed in December 2022.

The EEOC’s decision swiftly prompted several lawsuits and eroded what had been strong bipartisan support for the law designed to strengthen the rights of pregnant workers.

Joseph, who was appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term, ruled that the EEOC exceeded its authority by including abortion in its regulations. His ruling came in two consolidated lawsuits brought by the attorneys general of Louisiana and Mississippi, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic University and two Catholic dioceses.

Joseph sided with the plaintiffs’ argument that if Congress had intended for abortion to be covered by the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, “it would have spoken clearly when enacting the statute, particularly given the enormous social, religious, and political importance of the abortion issue in our nation at this time.”

“The EEOC has exceeded its statutory authority to implement the PWFA and, in doing so, both unlawfully expropriated the authority of Congress and encroached upon the sovereignty of the Plaintiff States under basic principles of federalism,” Joseph wrote.

Mississippi and Louisiana have near-total bans on abortion, except to save the life of the pregnant person or in cases of rape that has been reported to law enforcement in Mississippi, and when there is a substantial risk of death or impairment to the patient in continuing the pregnancy and in cases where the fetus has a fatal abnormality in Louisiana.

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act passed with widespread bipartisan support after a decade-long campaign by women’s right advocates, who hailed it as a win for low-wage pregnant workers who have routinely been denied accommodations for everything from time off for medical appointments to the ability to sit or stand on the job.

The law applies to employers with 15 or more employees.

While the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 prohibits employers from firing pregnant workers, the law did little to guarantee that women would receive accommodations they might need at work. As a result, many women were forced to keep working under unsafe conditions, or were forced to take unpaid leave by employers who refused to accommodate their needs.

The Pregnant Workers Workers Act requires employers to provide “reasonable accommodations” for conditions related to pregnancy and childbirth, from time off for medical appointments to exemption for heavy-lifting, and places the burden on employers to prove “undue hardships” for denying any requests.

But many Republican lawmakers, including Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy, who co-sponsored the bill, were furious when the EEOC stated that the law covered abortions. The EEOC’s commissioners approved the rules in a 3-2 vote along party lines, with both Republican commissioners voting against it.

In his ruling, Joseph vacated the provision of the EEOC regulations that included abortion as a “related medical condition” of pregnancy and childbirth. However, the rest of the regulations still stand.

“Victory! A federal court has granted Louisiana’s request to strike down an EEOC rule requiring employers to accommodate employees’ purely elective abortions. This is a win for Louisiana and for life!” Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said in a statement e-mailed to The Associated Press.

A Better Balance, the workers advocacy group that spearheaded a decade-long campaign for passage of the law, condemned the ruling.

“This court’s decision to deny workers reasonable accommodations for abortion-related needs is part of a broader attack on women’s rights and reproductive freedom,” A Better Balance President Inimai Chettiar said in a statement.

“A Better Balance is working around the clock to defend this law that we fought so hard to pass. We won’t stand by as these vital protections for women and all pregnant people are undermined,” Chettiar added.

Wednesday’s ruling comes as the Trump administration has moved to impose tumultuous changes at the EEOC that will almost certainly lead the agency to eventually rewrite the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act regulations.

Trump fired two of the EEOC’s democratic commissioners before their terms ended, paving the way for him to establish a Republican majority and make major policy changes on how to interpret and enforce the nation’s workplace civil rights laws.

For now, Trump’s move left EEOC without the quorum needed to make key decisions, including rescinding or revising regulations. Trump tapped an assistant U.S. attorney in Florida, Brittany Panuccio, to fill one of the vacancies. If she confirmed by the Senate, the EEOC will regain its quorum.

Acting EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas, who voted against the regulations because of the abortion provision, has said she will work to change them.

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