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       lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
       
       
       ARTICLE VIEW: 
       
       Employers must give their workers time off for an abortion or pregnancy
       care, according to final federal rule
       
       By Tami Luhby, CNN
       
       Updated: 
       
       3:00 PM EDT, Tue April 16, 2024
       
       Source: CNN
       
       Most employers must offer “reasonable accommodations” to workers
       related to pregnancy or childbirth, including providing time off for an
       abortion, according to a final rule issued Monday by the Equal
       Employment Opportunity Commission.
       
       The rule clarifies the provisions of the , which became law last June
       after Congress passed it as part of a in late 2022. The measures apply
       to employers with at least 15 workers unless the accommodations would
       cause “undue hardship” for the employer.
       
       The law provides pregnant and postpartum workers with a variety of
       protections, including time off for recovery from childbirth, prenatal
       or postnatal appointments and postpartum depression and accommodations
       related to seating, light duty, breaks for food, water and restroom
       needs, breastfeeding and miscarriage. Employers are not required to
       offer paid time off.
       
       The question of including abortion in the act’s definition of
       “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions” sparked a
       flurry of comments to the commission, with about 54,000 of them urging
       the commission to exclude abortion and about 40,000 comments asking to
       include it.
       
       The agency noted in the rule that the law cannot be used to require a
       job-based health plan to pay for any procedure, including an abortion.
       It specified that the act is a workplace anti-discrimination law.
       
       “With respect to abortion, the PWFA’s requirements are narrow and
       will likely concern only a request by a qualified employee for leave
       from work,” the commission said in a statement.
       
       The final rule clarifies to employers and workers who is covered, what
       types of limitations and medical conditions are covered and how workers
       can ask for reasonable accommodations. It also provides many examples
       of accommodations and encourages employers and workers to communicate
       early and frequently about the requests.
       
       Advocates have been fighting to improve federal protections for
       pregnant workers for more than a decade, saying that the Pregnancy
       Discrimination Act is inadequate and that most pregnancy-related
       conditions are not considered disabilities under the Americans with
       Disabilities Act. The US Chamber of Commerce was among the supporters
       of the law.
       
       “Today with these final rules, we have achieved a huge step forward
       for women’s economic security, maternal health, and the economy as a
       whole,” Dina Bakst, co-president of A Better Balance, a national
       legal advocacy organization, said in a statement. “The Pregnant
       Workers Fairness Act is a life-changing protection for pregnant and
       postpartum workers nationwide, ensuring they aren’t forced off the
       job or denied the accommodations they need for their health.”
       
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