Earlier this week, a reporter asked Rep. Stephanie Borowicz, primary sponsor of a bill that would effectively criminalize all abortion in Pennsylvania, if she also supported legislation that would help pregnant people or new mothers in Pennsylvania.
It’s a shame because the situation is dire: The United States has the highest maternal mortality among similarly situated nations, with Black women and women of color suffering disproportionate harm. Meanwhile, Pennsylvania lags behind most of the country by failing to ensure basic workplace protections for pregnant employees.
Pregnancy Discrimination is Common Across Pennsylvania
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh passed local pregnancy discrimination ordinances, but pregnant workers living anywhere else in Pennsylvania have fewer rights than Philadelphians and Pittsburghers.
WLP attorney Margaret Zhang counsels pregnancy discrimination clients. Zhang recently wrote an op-ed for The Patriot News on how pregnancy discrimination commonly plays out within the law’s loopholes and the patchwork of protections.
Most often, pregnant workers are pushed out of their jobs when their employer refuses to provide temporary, basic workplace accommodation needed to maintain a healthy pregnancy. Pregnant workers have suffered miscarriages, delivered stillborn babies, and gone into dangerously premature labor in the wake of their boss denying reasonable accommodations.
Yet, Pennsylvania “pro-life” lawmakers have historically not only not supported workplace protections that could prevent such tragedies, but blocked its passage by refusing to bring it to a vote.
PA HB 1417: The Pennsylvania Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PPWFA)
We support the Pennsylvania Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PPWFA) because no one should be forced to choose between a healthy pregnancy and a paycheck. The PPWFA would ensure reasonable accommodations in the workplace for pregnant workers unless an accommodation imposes an undue hardship on the employer. It is also known as House Bill 1417.
In 2015, WLP staff attorney Amal Bass testified at public hearings in support of the PWFA and a bill designed to reduce infant mortality by enabling working new moms to continue breastfeeding by providing temporary basic accommodations at work.
Neither of these bills have passed into law. Instead, we’re watching “pro-life” lawmakers waste time and money holding press conferences to introduce unconstitutional abortion bans that Governor Wolf has vowed to veto if it ever reached his desk.
Learn more and download a fact sheet about the PPWFA here.
The federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA)
Meanwhile, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which would codify basic protections for pregnant workers on the federal level, has been re-introduced every congressional session since 2012.
Last week, we sent a letter to Congress urging passage of the PWFA.
From our letter:
With the PWFA, Congress has an opportunity to fix the murky legal landscape that currently applies to pregnant workers and their employers. This law would clarify employers’ obligations by using a familiar framework from the ADA—requiring reasonable accommodations if doing so does not cause an undue hardship on the employer. This framework protects pregnant workers while minimizing the burden on employers. Similar laws have passed across the country, and businesses in these jurisdictions continue to thrive while pregnant workers are able to obtain the accommodations they need for their health and economic security. In places like Pennsylvania, where some localities have laws protecting pregnant workers and others do not, pregnant workers’ rights—and employers’ obligations—should not vary by zip code.
What Can You Do?
Share this post to spread the news about the need for better protections for pregnant workers.
Please contact your state Representative and urge them to sign on as a co-sponsor to the Pennsylvania Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
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