Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: Implementing in Your Business

Overview

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) was passed in December of 2022 and went into effect on June 27, 2023. It is designed to fill in some of the gaps covering pregnant women caused by the patchwork of laws such as FMLA, FLSA, and ADA.

The PWFA requires companies with 15 or more employes to make reasonable accommodations for pregnant women, and makes it easier for pregnant women to get the support they need.

The EEOC explains, “Generally, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) requires a covered employer to provide a “reasonable accommodation” to a qualified employee’s or applicant’s known limitations related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation will cause the employer an “undue hardship.”

This webinar will go over the basics of the new law and help companies implement this act in their businesses. Understanding this law is critical to legal compliance.

What We Will Discuss

• Background for PWFA
• What PWFA does (accommodations only)
• Reasonable accommodations
• Sample accommodations
• “Simple, inexpensive, and commonly sought” accommodations
• Conditions which may be covered by PWFA
• PWFA interactive process
• Can you require a pregnant woman to take a leave under PWFA?
• Retaliation
• How PWFA interacts with ADA and Title VII
• Abortion and PWFA
• PWFA process (fast and easy!)
• Documentation Requests
• Fertility treatments
• Lactation

Who will Benefit

• HR professionals
• Managers
• Senior Leadership
• Supervisors
• Operations professionals
• Employees
• All Employers
• All Employer Representatives
• Business Owners
• Compliance professionals

Speaker Bio

Suzanne Lucas spent 10 years in corporate HR where she hired, fired, managed the numbers, and double-checked with the lawyers. She left the corporate world to advise people and companies on how to have the best Human Resources departments possible.

Suzanne integrates best practices with innovative ideas and humor, including using improvisational comedy as a tool for leadership development.

Suzanne’s writings have been published at CBS News, Inc. Magazine, Reader’s Digest, and many other sites. She’s been named a top influencer in HR. You can read her archives at EvilHRLady.org or check out her Tedx Talk: Forget Talent and Get to Work.