The Oklahoma Bar Journal August 2025

courts in Louisiana and North Dakota have granted preliminary injunctions enjoining enforce ment of these regulations due to concerns that they conflict with existing state laws on abortion, infringing upon state sovereignty, free speech and religious liberty. 43 Seventeen states have mounted a challenge against this final rule on behalf of state employers in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, contend ing that the EEOC exceeded its authority under the PWFA. 44 IMPORTANT TAKEAWAYS Regardless of the legal battles surrounding the PWFA, it remains imperative for employees to com municate with their employers about the needs that arise from pregnancy and the birth of a child and how employer policies may create challenges (many of which can be unintended). Employers must engage in the interactive process with pregnant employees to determine reasonable accommo dations. Employers should review and revise existing accommoda tion processes where necessary, establish processes to follow when employees request accommodation due to pregnancy-related limita tions, maintain accurate documen tation regarding these requests and train their staff accordingly. Working together, employers and employees can avoid costly, time-consuming lawsuits and ensure that women can pursue eco nomic prosperity while caring for their health and the health of their growing families.

RECENT LITIGATION AND CHALLENGES TO THE PWFA The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed several suits under the PWFA. Among these are the first settlements, two of which involved pregnant workers obtain ing compensatory damages and backpay awards totaling $100,000 (for termination after the employer failed to accommodate recovery time following a stillbirth) and $50,000 (for termination follow ing a request to attend monthly pregnancy appointments). 38 The settlements also included man dates regarding workplace policy changes, appointing EEO coordi nators and training for employees. 39 One of the initial lawsuits filed by the EEOC is currently pend ing in the Northern District of Oklahoma. In EEOC v. Urologic Specialists of Oklahoma, Inc. , a preg nant medical assistant allegedly could not “sit, take breaks, or work part-time as her physician said was needed to protect her health and safety during the final trimes ter of her high-risk pregnancy” and was forced to take unpaid leave. 40 It further alleges that she refused to return when her employer would not guarantee she would receive breaks to express breast milk, 41 which also premises a violation under the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act. 42 Most challenges to the PWFA attack the EEOC’s final rule, which requires employers to grant leave to employees requesting leave for elective abortions. Texas success fully challenged the EEOC’s abil ity to pursue claims against the state, as it is an immune state actor that would face substantial costs in defending these lawsuits. Federal

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Eric Di Giacomo currently serves as the acting chief of the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office of Civil Rights Enforcement,

where he focuses his practice on education and enforcement of civil rights laws among employers, housing providers and public accommodations. He received his J.D. from the TU College of Law.

Lacey Pogue is the incoming assistant attorney general in the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office of Civil

Rights Enforcement. She received her J.D. from the TU College of Law, where she participated in the Reproductive Justice Practicum and presented before the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown Law. 1. 42 U.S.C. §2000gg. 2. Muller v. Oregon , 208 U.S. 412, 423 (1908). 3. Id . at 421. 4. See Phillips v. Martin Marietta Corp ., 400 U.S. 542 (1971); see also Reed v. Reed, 404 U.S. 71 (1971); Frontiero v. Richardson , 411 U.S. 677 (1973); Stanley v. Illinois , 405 U.S. 645 (1972). 5. Cleveland Board of Education v. LaFleur , 414 U.S. 642 (1974). 6. Geduldig v. Aiello , 417 U.S. 484, 494-97 (1974). 7. Gilbert v. Gen. Elec. Co ., 429 U.S. 125 (1976). 8. Id . at 136, 152. 9. Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978, Pub. L. 95-555, 92 Stat. 2076. 10. Id . 11. United Automobile Workers v. Johnson Controls, Inc., 499 U.S. 187 (1991). 12. Id . at 191-2. 13. Id . at 211. 14. Young v. United Parcel Serv ., 575 U.S. 206, 211 (2015). 15. Id . at 212. 16. Id. at 229. 17. Dina Bakst, Elizabeth Gedmark and Sarah Brafman, “Long Overdue – It Is Time for the Federal Workers Fairness Act,” A Better Balance (2019), available at http://bit.ly/3ZVffz7. 18. Ben Gitis, Emerson Sprick and Adrienne Schweer, “BPC – Morning Consult: 1 in 5 Moms Experience Pregnancy Discrimination in the Workplace,” Bipartisan Policy Center (2022), available at http://bit.ly/4no5kwd; Katherine Schaeffer and Carolina Aragão, “Key facts about ENDNOTES

Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff.

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THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL