Two federal district courts considering challenges to regulations implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) have reached different conclusions regarding the statute’s application to workers having elective abortions. The regulations, issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), took effect June 18, 2024.
In the first case, Tennessee v. EEOC (E.D. Ark. June 14, 2024), a federal district court in Arkansas rejected a challenge brought by 17 states, finding that the states did not allege sufficient imminent harm to challenge the regulations.
In contrast, in Louisiana v. EEOC (W.D. La. June 17, 2024), a federal district court in Louisiana reached the opposite conclusion when considering lawsuits brought by Louisiana, Mississippi, and several Catholic organizations. In that case, the court preliminarily enjoined implementation and enforcement of the PWFA regulations related to elective abortions for employees whose primary duty station is in Louisiana or Mississippi or who work for any of the plaintiffs.
The remainder of the PWFA regulations have gone into effect for all covered employers except the state of Texas, which won a lawsuit challenging the entire PWFA earlier this year.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, can read more here.