On June 27, 2023, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) began accepting charges of discrimination for alleged violations of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). On April 15, 2024, the EEOC published the final regulations to enforce the act, with an effective date of June 18, 2024. Since the law went into effect, the EEOC has reported that it has received more than 2,000 charges alleging violation of the PWFA. In addition, the EEOC has recently filed several lawsuits against employers who have allegedly violated the PWFA, which provides accommodations for pregnant, and postpartum, applicants and employees.

The PWFA applies to employers who have 15 or more employees, in both the private and public sectors. It requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to a worker's known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation will cause the employer an undue hardship. The PWFA also notes that covered employers cannot:

• Require the employee to accept an accommodation without having a discussion with the employee about the accommodation;
• Deny a job or other employment opportunities to an employee or an applicant based on the individual's needs for an accommodation;
• Require the employee to take a leave of absence if another accommodation would allow the employee to continue working;
• Retaliate against an individual for reporting or opposing discrimination under the PWFA (or for requesting an accommodation under the PWFA); or
• Interfere with any individual's rights under the PWFA.

On Sept. 10, 2024, the EEOC filed suit against Wabash National Corp. in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. The EEOC alleges that Wabash failed to accommodate a pregnant employee by refusing to transfer her to a role that did not require she bend over or lay on her stomach, immediately placed her on unpaid leave after she requested an accommodation, and requested that her physician to fill out an ADA questionnaire "designed to elicit information about disabilities and disability-related impairments." When the employee's doctor indicated that her limitations were due to pregnancy, not disability, her accommodation request was denied. As a result of Wabash's actions, the employee resigned. The EEOC alleges two violations of the PWFA—denial of accommodation and adverse action for requesting an accommodation. The EEOC also alleges violations of the ADA and Title VII. See EEOC v. Wasbash National, 5:24-cv-00148, (W. D. Ky. 2024).