It should be a given that you’re entitled to safe working conditions while pregnant or pumping, but until now, that wasn’t guaranteed. Especially for those in jobs with limited flexibility or that require some level of physical activity. This mismatch between job duties and the demands of childbearing can mean that too many women are forced to choose between their livelihood and a healthy pregnancy.
But now, two new laws strengthen protections for expecting and new parents at work: The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which takes effect June 27, 2023, allows for pregnant workers to receive temporary accommodations at work, and the recently passed Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (aka the PUMP Act), which went into full effect on April 28, 2023 and allows more workers break time to express milk and a private place to do so.
When Lauren Porter, who worked at a shipyard in Virginia, started experiencing severe back pain and nausea around 7 months of her pregnancy, her doctor recommended she work from home. But her manager suggested that instead, she take her parental leave. “That was not the best decision for my family. I needed to save that leave for after I had the baby,” she tells Motherly in an interview. “At that point, I was distraught, and I didn’t know what to do. My health was important. I didn’t want to put my baby at risk.”
After searching online for resources, Porter connected with a consultant from A Better Balance, a nonprofit legal advocacy group that launched the PWFA bill a decade ago and led the charge in getting the legislation passed. Porter was able to present her manager and HR department with a list of reasonable accommodations under the Virginia PWFA and was able to work from home for the remainder of her pregnancy.
The PWFA and PUMP Act are being heralded as a historic success for civil rights. Women make up more than half of the American workforce, and numerous families rely on women’s salaries to make ends meet. Motherly’s 2023 State of Motherhood survey found that 47% of women are the primary breadwinners of their households. Seventy-two percent of women will be pregnant and working at least once in their lifetime.
The new legislation will make it easier for working parents to grow their families while also continuing to support them.
There’s no doubt it’s long overdue. For many working women, the Great Resignation hasn’t stopped. Nearly two times more women became stay-at-home mothers in 2023 than in 2022, with 64% saying they’d need flexible schedules to return to work.
“All too often, pregnant women are pushed out of their jobs, or forced to risk their health to continue earning a paycheck,” A Better Balance writes in a statement.
Pumping breast milk at work is also a big lift for working parents, and the right to do so wasn’t always protected. Breastfeeding rates typically plummet when parents return to work, even though The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) now recommends that mothers breastfeed for two years for optimal child and maternal health.
When To-wen Tseng was breastfeeding her first child 10 years ago, the news organization she worked for didn’t provide a private place to pump. “I still remember vividly how I crouched in our bathroom stall and tried to pump for my then 3-month-old baby,” Tseng tells Motherly in an interview. “And occasionally my colleagues would go into our bathroom and pound loudly on the door, complaining that I was occupying one of the only two bathroom stalls on our floor. But that was the only place I could find with an outlet and some kind of privacy,” she shares.
After raising the issue with her supervisor, she told Tseng she “didn’t have to breastfeed,” and went on to share that she gave her own son formula and he did fine. Tseng stood up to her employer, and with the help of her legal team at work, was able to escalate and resolve the issue. “However, just like two-thirds of women who face breastfeeding discrimination at work, I ended up losing my job.”
Related: Pumping at work is work
“The protections provided by the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and PUMP Act will make a difference in the lives of millions of working women and families across the country and ensure that nobody is forced to choose between their economic security and a healthy pregnancy, safe recovery from childbirth, or ability to pump at work.” said A Better Balance Co-Founder and Co-President Dina Bakst in a press release.
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Below, we’ll outline more about what the new laws require and how to advocate for yourself with your employer.
The PWFA requires employers to provide “reasonable accommodations” to a worker’s known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions—unless the accommodation will cause the employer “undue hardship”, which means a significant difficulty or expense for the employer. Here are more details about the new law.
No one should have to choose between their own health or the health of their infant and a paycheck. Many employees could keep working their existing jobs with some accommodations made with respect to their condition.
What’s considered a reasonable accommodation? The House Committee on Education and Labor Report on the PWFA provides several examples.
Under the PWFA, “covered employers” denotes private and public sector employers with at least 15 employees, as well as Congress, Federal agencies, employment agencies and labor organizations. The law doesn’t replace any federal, state or local laws that offer more protections to those affected by pregnancy or childbirth. For example, 30 states offer special protections for pregnant workers, and Title VII and the ADA protect employees from discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions or disabilities.
If remote work or more flexible hours could allow you to sufficiently and safely do your job while pregnant, employers can’t force you to instead take a leave of absence. They also can’t force pregnant employees to accept an accommodation without having a discussion about it, and cannot deny a job or other job opportunities to qualified employees or applicants based on the person’s need for a reasonable accommodation.
The PUMP Act expands on the Break Time for Nursing Mothers Act passed in 2010 as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In building on that legislation, the PUMP Act provides workplace protections to nearly 9 million additional breastfeeding employees who were not previously covered under the ACA, including teachers, agricultural workers, truck and taxi drivers, nurses and home care workers. Here’s what else to know.
You have the right to pump in a private space that is shielded from view and that isn’t a bathroom and that is free from intrusions from colleagues while at work. You’re allowed this right for up to 1 year following the birth of your child.
For up to 1 year after the birth of your child, your employer must provide you with reasonable break time so that you can pump “as frequently as needed.” Because the frequency of breaks and duration needed will vary, you’ll need to work out this schedule with your employer. If you’re an hourly employee, your employer may be allowed to take you off the clock during pumping breaks, but not always. Salaried employees typically must be paid for pumping breaks.
All employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act, regardless of the size of the business, must follow the PUMP Act, unless the company has fewer than 50 employees and the company can show that the break time requirement would place an “undue hardship” on the business.
Advocating for yourself and your rights at work starts with knowing what you’re entitled to. For more resources, A Better Balance offers sample letters to share with your employer to help you advocate for accommodations at your workplace, and a Workplace Rights Hub resource to look up how you’re protected as a worker in your state, and to access free legal help.
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