A coalition of Republican-led states filed a lawsuit on Thursday to invalidate a federal rule that would force them to make accommodations for workers under a rule traditionally meant to protect pregnant women that was recently expanded to include abortions.
Tennessee and Arkansas, joined by 15 other states, argue that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has overstepped its authority by interpreting a federal law to require employers to accommodate workers’ abortions.
The lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas argues that the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) aimed to safeguard pregnant women in the workplace through basic accommodations like extra restroom breaks, not to mandate accommodations for abortions.
However, the states argue that a panel of “unelected commissioners” at the EEOC “seeks to hijack these new protections for pregnancies by requiring employers to accommodate workers’ abortions—something Congress did not authorize.”
The final rule requires employers to accommodate all abortions, even those ending healthy pregnancies, which the states argue undermines states’ rights to regulate abortion and exposes them to federal lawsuits. They argue that the rule will harm them and seek relief from the court to suspend the rule’s implementation, enjoin its enforcement, and declare it unlawful.
The final rule, published on April 15, expanded its definition to include abortion in “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.” The language means that workers can ask for time off to obtain an abortion and recover from the procedure.
The rules, approved with a 3–2 vote along party lines, are set to take effect on June 18.
“This is yet another attempt by the Biden administration to force through administrative fiat what it cannot get passed through Congress,” Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said in a statement. “Under this radical interpretation of the PWFA, business owners will face federal lawsuits if they don’t accommodate employees’ abortions, even if those abortions are illegal under state law.”
The PWFA of 2022, a bipartisan piece of legislation, bars discriminatory employment practices and mandates reasonable accommodations for pregnant women. The states argue that the EEOC’s interpretation goes beyond the scope of the PWFA and contradicts its legislative history.
Additionally, they assert that the new rule infringes on states’ rights by forcing them to facilitate abortions, even in cases where they are illegal under state law. Furthermore, they argue that the mandate violates constitutional and administrative law principles.
The states that are parties to the lawsuit include Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, and Tennessee.
The lawsuit was called a baseless attack by Better Balance, a vocal advocate for the PWFA.
“This lawsuit represents a bad faith effort to politicize what is a vital protection for the health and economic security of millions of families, and a continuation of the alarming attacks on women’s health and reproductive choice,” Dina Bakst, the group’s co-president, said in a statement.
In Tennessee and Arkansas, more than half of eligible women work in the labor force, with millions falling pregnant every year, according to the lawsuit. The law at issue here has traditionally protected those women from adverse actions from employers as a result.
In 2022, a bipartisan effort saw the PWFA expand the law to provide “simple, low-cost” accommodations for pregnant women who may need help to maintain healthy pregnancies.
The PWFA requires employers to accommodate “known limitations” arising from a worker’s “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.” This meant “commonsense accommodations” like extra restroom breaks or being allowed to work while seated.
During the proposal stage, Tennessee and the 18 states, noted that abortions are not “medical conditions” arising from pregnancy. They are instead, “instead voluntary procedures that terminate pregnancy,” according to the lawsuit.
“Tennessee pointed out that such procedures end pregnancy and fetal life and are illegal in Tennessee and many other states except in certain circumstances including as necessary to address or protect against specified risks to maternal life or health,” the lawsuit reads.
