Pregnancy Protection Laws: What Every Working Woman Needs to Know
A conversation with employment attorney Paige Sparks and legal expert Noelle Murray about the groundbreaking Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
Written by Melissa Schenkman, MPH, MSJ
Noelle Murray
The landscape of pregnancy protection in the workplace has dramatically changed in the past year, yet many women remain unaware of their rights. Employment attorney Paige Sparks, founder of Sparks Legal, and Noelle Murray, who has developed specialized expertise in pregnancy-related law, sat down to discuss these critical protections that affect millions of working women across America.
Important note: The information provided is meant to be informational only and should not be construed as legal advice.
What initially sparked your interest in pregnancy protection laws?
Noelle Murray: My interest started when I watched my sisters go through their pregnancies. All of them had hyperemesis gravidarum, which is severe morning sickness times a hundred. They were so sick they couldn't even keep ice chips down. I always asked what they would do about work, and the advice was basically: take unpaid leave or get fired. As a woman, you're always told you have to choose between being a mom or having a career, and that never sat well with me.
Working with Paige and seeing how unfairly employers treat pregnant employees really bothered me. What surprised me most is that meaningful protections for pregnant women only came into effect in 2024. In this day and age, you would think we would have made bigger strides in protecting women and their jobs.
What were the limitations of pregnancy protections before 2024?
Paige Sparks: Previously, if someone needed help or an accommodation for their pregnancy and they didn't have a high-risk pregnancy, there were really limited options. Symptoms that most women experience—like long-term nausea or hyperemesis—were not technically disabilities under the ADA, so they didn't require accommodation.
Before, pregnancy on its own didn't get an accommodation unless it was high risk. You had to have something like gestational diabetes to elevate the pregnancy to a disability standard. We were basically trying to make a square peg fit in a round hole to get clients accommodated. It was really frustrating.
How does the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act change things?
Noelle Murray: This is huge. The Act covers past, current, and future pregnancies. It allows women to remain in the workplace when possible, as long as their employer can provide reasonable accommodations to keep them working. The goal is to keep them working and allow them to keep their job.
It doesn't matter if the pregnancy condition is severe, moderate, or minimal. It doesn't matter if it's ongoing or comes in episodes. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act covers all of that. You don't need a severe or ongoing condition anymore. It really allows employees to have protections when they need reasonable accommodations, and their employer cannot retaliate against them for asking.
Paige Sparks: Now we don't have to prove a disability. Under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, any pregnancy allows you to request an accommodation. We're bringing a lot of cases because employers haven't kept up with the changes—they're still going under that old standard. And ignorance of the law is not a defense.
Why has pregnancy historically been treated as a "disability" in legal terms?
Paige Sparks: I think it's because there was no equivalent protection before—that's how we had to phrase it. We were using close enough language from similar laws. Being pregnant isn't necessarily a full-body disability, but that's how a lot of employers perceived it or associated it because there wasn't specific protection.
Before, you had to have disability plus pregnancy to ask for an accommodation. Now we don't have that whole equation. You can just be pregnant and ask for the accommodation. Hopefully, as people learn about these new changes, it'll lose that connotation.
What does the Pump for Nursing Mothers Act provide, and what are its limitations?
Noelle Murray: The PUMP Act was a great first step, allowing pumping mothers to have space and time to nurse. But it has significant shortcomings. It only covers one year after childbirth, even though some women breastfeed longer. There's no statute on how long or how frequent the breaks can be, and the breaks are unpaid, which is a real issue for hourly employees.
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act extends these protections. It considers pumping a reasonable accommodation when possible, and employers should provide access to a sink or refrigerator nearby, plus an extended amount of breaks. It gives more protections than the PUMP Act originally did.
What conditions qualify for protection under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act?
Noelle Murray: The list is incredibly broad. Physical conditions include nausea, fertility treatments, infertility counseling, abortion care, miscarriage recovery, gestational diabetes, low milk supply, and clogged milk ducts.
But it's not only physical conditions—mental health conditions are covered too. This includes hormonal changes, postpartum depression, and anxiety during pregnancy. Pretty much anything you experience during pregnancy that is debilitating is covered under this Act.
Paige Sparks: The miscarriage protections are especially important. Before, we didn't really have much to help people if they needed time off for a D&C and their employer wouldn't accommodate them. It's really great how expansive it is now.
Attorney Paige Sparks
How does someone qualify for protection under the Act?
Noelle Murray: There are two ways. The first is similar to the ADA: the employee can perform the essential functions of their job with or without a reasonable accommodation.
But here's what's different: even if an employee cannot perform their essential functions, they can still qualify if their inability is only temporary, can be performed in the near future, and can be accommodated by a reasonable accommodation. For example, if a cashier needs a stool to sit while checking people out, that's a reasonable accommodation because they can still perform their job with that accommodation.
What's the most important first step for pregnant employees?
Paige Sparks: First and foremost, you have to disclose the pregnancy. I always prefer when clients do that in writing so we can prove when and how they did it—the exact date and time.
I would disclose my pregnancy and ask for accommodations in the same breath. That way we can make sure it's not used to discriminate, and if things start happening that are weird after that triggering event, we can track them back to allege retaliation if needed.
It breaks our heart when people contact us and they've never disclosed their pregnancy to their employer. They think they were fired in retaliation, but they were afraid to disclose it. I can't prove you were discriminated against because of your pregnancy if the employer can say they didn't know.
Noelle Murray: I want to add that the fears women had about disclosing their pregnancies were completely valid up until about a year ago. Before, an employer could technically fire you or put you on unpaid leave. But the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act has put a stop to that. It's so important to encourage women to tell their employer and ask for accommodations because now this federal statute will protect them should their employer retaliate.
What language should employees use when requesting accommodations?
Paige Sparks: There's no magic language you have to use. It could be as simple as: "Hi, dear manager. I'm writing to let you know I'm pregnant with an expected due date of [date]. Because of my pregnancy, I'm requesting the following accommodations: [list them]. Here's a note from my doctor. Let me know if you need to discuss this further."
We're happy to help people draft these requests if they email us. We do that for free because we just want to help people. Most of the time, employers do the right thing. We're just holding your hand to let them know you're pregnant.
What are some examples of reasonable accommodations that must be provided?
Noelle Murray: The EEOC guidance says certain accommodations will be considered reasonable in virtually all cases. These include:
Allowing an employee to carry water with them
Providing more restroom breaks
Allowing more breaks to eat something
If the employee usually stands, allowing them to sit
If they usually sit, allowing them to stand
These four things are going to be considered reasonable accommodations in virtually all cases.
What documentation can employers request?
Noelle Murray: There's a reasonableness standard under the EEOC's guidance. Employers can ask for the minimum necessary documentation to support that you're pregnant and have the condition. They cannot ask for excessive documentation.
For example, if you need to come in an hour later because of morning sickness and your employer has a doctor's note, they can't require a new doctor's note every single time you come in late. At that point, they're just being unreasonable.
If you're asking for a new uniform because of a growing belly, it would be unreasonable for your employer to ask for documentation. It's going to depend on a case-by-case basis.
Paige Sparks: We have a client right now who asked for a stool, and the employer responded by sending an overbroad release requesting psychiatric records and asking her doctor to state she's not a harm to herself or others. That's completely inappropriate and has nothing to do with her accommodation request.
When can an employer deny an accommodation?
Paige Sparks: An employer can try to not provide an accommodation if they can show it causes some kind of undue burden or hardship on the company. But here's an important tip: pay attention if they deny your accommodation request but are accommodating other non-pregnant people with the same accommodation.
We have a case right now where our client requested to work from home for pregnancy-related reasons, and the employer denied it. But they worked from home during the pandemic, when the office flooded, and they're letting male employees work from home. Those are red flags.
If an accommodation gets denied, immediately talk with a lawyer. Pregnancy is not a lifetime condition. When you need a pregnancy accommodation, you need it now—most of the time, yesterday.
How does the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act differ from FMLA?
Noelle Murray: These are two different federal statutes, but they can work hand in hand. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is to keep the employee working as long as they can be reasonably accommodated—like coming in an hour late because of morning sickness.
FMLA is for when the employee needs to step away and have their job protected, like recovering from childbirth. You can use intermittent FMLA when you need to step away and use the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act when you just need accommodations to continue working.
Paige Sparks: I always tell pregnant clients to get intermittent FMLA as soon as you can. It's there to use as you need it. You can take a day as needed. Always make sure you document when you're using FMLA days because we've seen employers put people on performance improvement plans for attendance issues when all the dates were FMLA dates.
When should someone start this process?
Paige Sparks: Be proactive, not defensive. That's how you'll make sure your needs are getting met, and if they're not, you have a plan and you're not left scrambling.
Plan ahead if you're going to disclose your pregnancy. Most lawyers like us do free consultations, and you can at least know your rights for what you're entitled to. You can plan how you want to use your FMLA, take accommodations under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, and potentially get short-term disability benefits at the same time.
Do not wait until the last minute. Have an idea of what you'd like to do so you know your rights. Being proactive instead of defensive is how you can protect yourself the most.
What are the top three things women should know about the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act?
Noelle Murray:
Times are changing. We are no longer in this era where you have to choose between being a mom and having a career. Before, women could be pushed into unpaid leave or lose their jobs because they decided to be a mom. Now employers must explore accommodations to keep them working.
This covers the entire reproductive process. This doesn't just cover current pregnancies. If you have a condition from a past pregnancy or are planning a future pregnancy, this is all covered. It also includes mental health conditions, not just physical ones.
Employers cannot retaliate against you for asking for help. So many women are afraid to speak up and disclose their pregnancy because they fear retaliation. This is not allowed. We are stepping away from that mindset and entering a new age.
What does this Act mean for the future of women's health and employment?
Paige Sparks: My hope is that this strengthens where the gaps were before. If someone was ill from a miscarriage and needed time off work, that wasn't long-term, it wasn't a disability, and it didn't get accommodated. Now this has bridged that gap.
Something important to note: this applies to all states, even at-will states. It doesn't matter—it's a federal law. We're hoping this will change those stigmas and work through the system. Hopefully in the future, women won't be afraid to disclose their pregnancy because they know it will actually protect them.
Want to hear more from Paige and Noelle? Check out the YMyHealth podcast on all streaming services or on our YouTube channel!