Workplace Accommodations and Protections for Pregnant and Nursing Mothers: PWFA and PUMP Act Compliance

This CLE webinar will provide a comprehensive overview of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act). The panel will examine trends and developments related to the laws since their enactment, provide an update on the interplay of important federal and state laws, and outline practical implications for employment counsel when advising clients with respect to key accommodations and protections in the modern workplace.

The PWFA requires private sector employers with more than 15 employees, as well as public sector employers, to provide reasonable accommodations for job applicants and employees with known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, except if doing so would impose an undue hardship on the operation of a business. Like the ADA, the PWFA requires an interactive process between employers and pregnant workers to determine what constitutes appropriate and reasonable accommodations.

In addition to protections under the PWFA, the PUMP Act extends workplace protections for nursing mothers to include exempt as well as non-exempt, employees. The law also provides that employees must be completely relieved from work or otherwise such time is counted as hours worked, which is significant for calculating overtime for non-exempt employees. Among other issues, including break locations, there are carveouts for small employers/businesses where compliance would pose an undue hardship and exceptions for certain employees of air, rail, and bus operators.

The PWFA is enforced by the EEOC. The PWFA also provides a private right of action upon an aggrieved employee's exhaustion of their EEOC administrative remedies. The PUMP Act is enforced under the remedies provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which includes a private right of action for aggrieved employees who faced retaliation. Both the PWFA and the PUMP Act do not preempt state or local laws that afford greater legal protections for pregnant and nursing workers.

Listen as our expert panel discusses employer requirements under the PWFA and the PUMP Act and provides notable case law updates. The panel will also address more generous state and local laws, discuss federal and state law interaction, and offer practical advice for PWFA and PUMP Act compliance.