The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act reshaped the federal law of pregnancy accommodations in 2023. Before the PWFA, pregnant workers had to prove pregnancy discrimination through the awkward comparator framework set out in Young v. United Parcel Service, Inc., 575 U.S. 206 (2015). After the PWFA, the accommodation duty is affirmative and independent — closer to the ADA framework than to the pre-PWFA Title VII framework.
New York and New Jersey required pregnancy accommodations earlier, and in some respects still require more. The overlap produces workers’ rights that are among the strongest in the country.
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000gg et seq., took effect on June 27, 2023. It requires covered employers — those with 15 or more employees — to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified employees for known limitations related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, absent undue hardship. The EEOC’s final implementing regulations at 29 C.F.R. Part 1636 took effect on June 18, 2024.
The framework mirrors the Americans with Disabilities Act in structure:
- Reasonable accommodation. Any change to the work environment or how a job is customarily done that enables the worker to perform the job’s essential functions or to enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment.
- Interactive process. The employer must engage in a good-faith, individualized dialogue with the worker to identify a reasonable accommodation.
- Undue hardship. The same significant-difficulty-or-expense standard as under the ADA. Not the earlier, weaker Title VII religious-accommodation de minimis standard.
The PWFA is distinctly more worker-protective than the ADA in one important respect: it explicitly authorizes the temporary suspension of essential job functions as a reasonable accommodation, provided the worker can perform the essential functions in the near future and the suspension can be accomplished without undue hardship. 29 C.F.R. § 1636.3(f)(2). The ADA does not require suspension of essential functions.
The EEOC’s regulations identify categories of predictably reasonable accommodations, including more frequent restroom, water, and rest breaks; food and water at the workstation; permission to sit or stand as needed; limits on lifting; temporary transfer to less strenuous or less hazardous positions; modified schedules; time off for medical appointments; and leave for childbirth recovery.
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act — still relevant
The Pregnancy Discrimination Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(k), remains in force alongside the PWFA. It amended Title VII to make clear that discrimination “because of sex” includes discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. The PDA does not itself require accommodation, but it prohibits treating pregnancy less favorably than other conditions similar in the ability or inability to work.
The Young v. UPS framework — comparing the treatment of pregnant workers to non-pregnant workers similarly limited in their ability to work — retains vitality where the PWFA does not reach the facts, or as an alternative theory. After the PWFA, the affirmative accommodation duty is generally the more useful claim.
The New York State Human Rights Law
The New York State Human Rights Law, N.Y. Exec. Law § 296(3), has required reasonable accommodations for pregnancy-related conditions since 2016 amendments — well before the federal PWFA. It applies to employers with four or more employees.
The NYSHRL’s accommodation duty runs alongside the PWFA and is not preempted. It applies to a broader range of employers than the PWFA (four vs. fifteen employees) and does not require the plaintiff to show that a limitation is “known” in the specific PWFA sense.
The New York City Human Rights Law
The New York City Human Rights Law, N.Y.C. Admin. Code § 8-107(22), has required accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions since 2014. The NYCHRL applies to employers with four or more employees and is construed liberally under the 2005 Restoration Act.
The NYC Commission on Human Rights guidance on pregnancy accommodations is expansive. Accommodations that must be considered include bathroom, water, and rest breaks; assistance with manual labor; time off for medical appointments; modified schedules; light duty; ergonomic changes; and unpaid medical leave beyond what is required by FMLA. Employers are required to distribute a written pregnancy-accommodation notice to employees. § 8-107(22)(c).
The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination
The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, N.J.S.A. 10:5-12(s), has required pregnancy accommodations since 2014 amendments. It applies to employers with any employees. The NJLAD’s accommodation list is comparably broad: bathroom breaks, water breaks, periodic rest, assistance with manual labor, restrictions on heavy lifting, modified work schedules, temporary transfer to less strenuous work, and time off for prenatal care. The employer must engage in an interactive process, and the accommodation duty is affirmative.
Under the NJLAD, an employer that fails to provide a reasonable accommodation for a pregnant worker is liable regardless of whether other, non-pregnant workers received similar accommodations. The Young v. UPS comparator framework is not the operative test in New Jersey.
What accommodation requests look like
Common accommodation requests and the typical results under the PWFA, NYSHRL, NYCHRL, and NJLAD:
Bathroom, water, and food breaks. Identified as predictably reasonable accommodations in EEOC PWFA guidance and in NYCCHR and NJ DCR guidance. Blanket employer refusals — “you have to hold it,” “you can eat on your break,” “no snacks on the floor” — are the categorical denials the PWFA, NYSHRL, NYCHRL, and NJLAD were designed to reach.
A stool or seating. For workers in standing roles (retail, restaurant, bank teller, factory). Almost always reasonable and rarely presents undue hardship.
Lifting restrictions. Where the worker’s provider has restricted lifting to a specific weight, the employer must consider temporary reassignment of the lifting tasks, redistribution to coworkers, or temporary transfer to a lighter-duty role.
Temporary transfer to less strenuous work. Where light-duty positions exist, the employer generally must consider transfer. Under the NJLAD and NYCHRL, the duty is stronger than under Title VII pre-PWFA.
Modified schedules. Adjusted start times to accommodate morning sickness, or shortened shifts to reduce strain. Frequently reasonable.
Time off for prenatal appointments. The EEOC regulations under the PWFA specifically identify this as a predictably reasonable accommodation. NYSHRL, NYCHRL, and NJLAD reach the same result.
Remote work. Where the role’s essential functions can be performed remotely and remote work is otherwise available in the workplace, remote work as an accommodation is often reasonable. Employers that offer remote work to other workers cannot categorically refuse it to a pregnant worker without evaluating the request.
Leave beyond FMLA. The PWFA, NYSHRL, NYCHRL, and NJLAD each contemplate leave as a form of reasonable accommodation. This may extend beyond the twelve weeks provided by the FMLA, 29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq., or by the New York Paid Family Leave program, or by the New Jersey Family Leave Act, N.J.S.A. 34:11B-1 et seq.
Modified uniforms and dress code. Employers must consider permitting modifications for comfort and fit.
Lactation accommodations
The PUMP Act, 29 U.S.C. § 218d (effective 2022 and expanded 2023), requires reasonable break time and a private place — other than a bathroom — for pumping breast milk. It applies for up to one year after the birth of the child. Coverage is broad, and workers can enforce the PUMP Act by suit, including recovery of attorneys’ fees.
New York’s Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act, N.Y. Lab. Law § 206-c, requires break time and a dedicated lactation room for up to three years after the birth of a child, and the room must meet specific statutory requirements including a chair, a working surface, refrigeration, an electrical outlet, and privacy.
New Jersey’s law at N.J.S.A. 34:11D-1 provides comparable protection, and the NJLAD independently protects against retaliation for lactation-related accommodation requests.
The retaliation overlay
Retaliation for requesting an accommodation, complaining about a denial, or reporting an interactive-process failure is separately actionable under Title VII, the PWFA (which has its own anti-retaliation provision at 42 U.S.C. § 2000gg-2), the NYSHRL, the NYCHRL, and the NJLAD. The standard for retaliation is more forgiving to workers than the underlying discrimination standard. Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. White, 548 U.S. 53 (2006).
If a worker requested a stool and was moved to a less desirable shift, or asked for lifting help and had her hours cut, or complained about the refusal of prenatal-appointment leave and was written up, the retaliation claim is often stronger than the underlying accommodation claim.
Evidence
- The accommodation request in writing — email, HR portal, note to supervisor.
- The employer’s response and the interactive-process record.
- Medical documentation supporting the request.
- Comparator evidence — how the employer handled similar accommodation requests for non-pregnancy conditions (light duty for workers-comp injuries, temporary transfers, modified schedules).
- Timing between the accommodation request and any adverse action.
- Preserved communications from supervisors about the request.
What to do
- Put the request in writing. Email, HR portal, or dated note. Identify the specific limitation, the requested accommodation, and any supporting medical documentation.
- Follow up in writing if there is no timely, substantive response.
- Track the response. Document who responded, when, and what was offered or refused.
- Preserve records. Screenshot messages, save emails, keep dated notes.
- Do not accept a “solution” that moves you off your role or cuts your pay without evaluating whether it is a genuine accommodation or a demotion in disguise.
- Do not sign a severance offer if you are terminated. Take it home. Consult before signing.
- Talk to a lawyer. The PWFA, PDA, NYSHRL, NYCHRL, and NJLAD each provide different remedies and different limitations periods.
If you were denied a pregnancy accommodation, subjected to an inadequate interactive process, or retaliated against for requesting an accommodation in New York or New Jersey, contact Fingerhut Law for a confidential consultation.
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