Compliance Stuff

  TL;DR: Some big changes. On Tuesday, the Trump Administration nominated  Brittany Bull Panuccio  to the spot on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that has been vacant since Keith Sonderling’s term expired last December. (Mr. Sonderling, another Trump appointee, is now Assistant Secretary of Labor.) Ms. Panuccio received her undergraduate and law degrees from Northwestern University and after one year in private practice worked for the U.S. government, primarily with the Department of Education under then-Secretary Betsy DeVos. She also worked with the Trump Administration on the Supreme Court nomination of then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh. She is currently an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Florida. Although it isn’t clear whether Ms. Panuccio has employment law experience, she does have civil rights experience, having been involved in putting together the Trump Administration’s Title IX regulations. The Trump regulations, which took effect in 2020 and were  re...

  Seyfarth Synopsis : The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a flurry of lawsuits last month alleging violations of federal law concerning pregnancy and related conditions. These cases highlight a new “Bermuda Triangle” of laws that employers must navigate when responding to pregnancy-related requests for accommodation. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act added more protections for pregnant workers—employees or applicants who have known limitations related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions—beyond the ones available under existing federal law. Prior to the PWFA’s passage last year, pregnant workers were protected only by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which essentially requires that pregnant workers be treated the same as similarly situated non-pregnant workers, and the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires employers to accommodate physical and mental conditions that rise to the level of a disability absent ...

  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency tasked with enforcing anti-discrimination laws, has been increasingly active in addressing compliance with regulations affecting pregnant workers. This has been particularly evident in fiscal year 2024, as the EEOC has already filed five cases under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), despite the law being in effect for just over a year. State labor commissions, such as the Utah Antidiscrimination and Labor Division, have likewise seen an increase in charges by pregnant workers. Passed in 2023, the federal PWFA was introduced to combat discrimination and promote workplace equality by requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees and applicants with known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Retaliation against such workers is prohibited. Some employers have been caught off guard since pregnancy-related leave, without extenuating medical com...

  Formally published on April 19, 2024, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released the final regulations and interpretive guidance implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA).  It will be published in the Federal Register 60 days later (June 18, 2024).   The PWFA went into effect on June 27, 2023---the EEOC provides important clarifications and insights into how the EEOC will enforce the law.  It requires employers with at least 15 employees and other covered entities to provide reasonable accommodations 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 undue hardship on the operation of the employer's business.   JacksonLewis  provides key PWFA requirements:   Under the PWFA, an employee has two ways to establish they are a “qualified employee”:   Like under the Americans with Dis...

    A federal judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of Texas blocked enforcement of the Pregnant Workers' Enforcement Act (PWFA) against the State of Texas, holding that the U.S. Congress passed the law - part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 - in violation of the US Constitution's quorum requirements.   To read more about the PWFA, please see the article above!   Texas also argued that a rule implemented by Congress in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, which permitted non-present congressional members to vote by proxy and thus be counted toward  quorum  requirements was unconstitutional.  With the Northern Texas District agreeing with the US District Court, decided to block the enforcement.     The federal government has one week to appeal.   Source:  JDSupra , reported on March 1, 2024.

  Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PFWA)   Going into effect June 27, 2023, the PFWA requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations to current and prospective employees with known limitations stemming from pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.  The protections are designed to fill the gaps between the protections that are already available to pregnant workers through ADA and Title VII of the Civil Rights of 1964.  Here are some examples that the PFWA may require for pregnant employees:   Allowing them to have water or food in the workplace; Reducing their lifting requirements; Providing pregnant workers the ability to sit; Allowing them additional breaks to use the bathroom, eat, and rest; Excusing them from activities that involve exposure to compounds unsafe for pregnancy; and Providing them with appropriately sized uniforms and safety apparel.   DOL Priority Agenda Released   The Department of Labor o...