01/24/2024

New Federal Worker Protections Cover Pregnant Employees, Nursing Mothers

A pair of federal laws strengthen existing rights and close loopholes

This year, a large and essential part of Ohio’s workforce will benefit from new protections while on the job, thanks to a pair of new federal laws that assure employers will provide accommodations to workers who are pregnant or nursing.

Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP) reinforce existing federal and Ohio laws, but the acts, signed into law by President Joe Biden in December 2022, are more specific, tailored and robust.

"It filled an important gap in federal protection by requiring [employers] to make reasonable accommodations for pregnant women and... new moms, like letting them have water breaks, bathroom breaks, 'sit down and work' breaks,'" Biden said in remarks in February, adding, "Too many women have been denied... simple, basic support.”

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