Court Nixes Elective Abortion Accommodation Mandate—but Discriminate At Your Own Risk

The PWFA was designed to support pregnant workers.

But when the EEOC included abortion in the mix, a federal court hit pause.

TL;DR: A federal judge in Louisiana just struck down part of the EEOC’s new rules under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) that required employers to accommodate elective abortions. But that doesn’t mean employers can punish workers for having one. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act still prohibits that kind of discrimination.

📄 Read the full decision

What’s This All About?

In April 2024, the EEOC issued new rules under the PWFA—a law that requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for workers affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.

The rules included accommodations for abortion, even elective (non-medically necessary) procedures. That meant an employee could request time off or other changes at work tied to an abortion, and the employer would have to comply unless doing so caused an undue hardship.

That provision sparked immediate backlash. States like Louisiana and Mississippi, along with religious groups, sued the EEOC. Their argument? Congress never gave the agency authority to require accommodations for elective abortions.

What Did the Court Decide?

A federal judge agreed with the challengers. He ruled that the EEOC exceeded its authority by including abortion in its PWFA regulations.

The court also removed “abortion” from the EEOC’s definition of a “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical condition.” In short: abortion is no longer considered a protected condition requiring accommodation under the PWFA.

The court emphasized that Congress passed the PWFA just months after the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade and returned abortion regulation to the states. If lawmakers had meant to include abortion accommodations, the judge said, they would have made that clear:

“The Court cannot simply ignore the fact that the PWFA was enacted just six months after the Supreme Court … removed abortion as a constitutional concern and expressly returned the issue to the States. Congress [knew this] when it passed the PWFA, and had it wanted to include an abortion accommodation provision in the PWFA, it surely would have done so.”

The court continued:

“At its core, this is a textbook case of a federal administrative agency exceeding its statutory authority in a way that both usurps the role of Congress and violates authority vested in the states under the principles of federalism.”

Bottom line: The court invalidated the rule requiring accommodations for elective abortions. But the rest of the PWFA remains in full effect.

What Employers Need to Know:

• The PWFA still applies. Employers must continue to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy-related needs, like extra bathroom breaks, lifting restrictions, or temporary job changes. The only carve-out is for elective abortion.
• Title VII still protects abortion-related decisions. Under Title VII, it’s illegal to fire, discipline, or otherwise discriminate against an employee because they had—or plan to have—an abortion.
• Medically necessary abortions may still be covered. If an abortion is part of treatment for a pregnancy-related medical issue, like preeclampsia or an ectopic pregnancy, an accommodation might still be required under the PWFA.

One Last Thing:

This decision narrows one part of the EEOC’s rule—but it doesn’t wipe out all employer obligations related to abortion. Between Title VII, the PWFA, state laws, and health benefit rules, the legal landscape is still shifting.