Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: What Employers Must Do
Last updated November 7, 2026
An employee just told you she’s pregnant and asked for a stool, extra breaks, or some time off. Maybe a manager mentioned it in the hallway and you’re not sure it counts as a “request.” Either way, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) is now in play, and we’ve been there with a lot of employers. This guide gets you caught up fast on what the law requires and what to do next.
Key Takeaways
- The PWFA applies to employers with 15 or more employees. New Jersey law covers employers of any size.
- The employee does not need an ADA disability. A known limitation from pregnancy, childbirth, or a related condition is enough.
- Four requests are almost always reasonable: water nearby, extra restroom breaks, sitting or standing as needed, and breaks to eat or drink.
- Leave is almost always considered a reasonable accommodation under the PWFA.
- You generally cannot force an employee onto leave when another effective accommodation exists.
- Ask for medical documentation only when it is reasonable, and only for the minimum you need.
- The EEOC is expected to propose changes to its PWFA rule. The core protections are not reported to be at risk, but check back before you rely on this guide.
What Is the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act?
The PWFA is a federal law that requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations for known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless doing so would cause an undue hardship. It took effect on June 27, 2023. The EEOC’s final rule took effect on June 18, 2024.
Here is the part that surprises employers: the employee does not have to have a disability. The ADA asks whether someone has a disability. The PWFA asks whether the employee has a limitation connected to pregnancy or childbirth and told you about it. A normal, healthy pregnancy can qualify. If you have been running these requests through your ADA process and stopping there, you have a gap. Our guide to the ADA interactive process covers the disability side. This guide covers the pregnancy side.
Who Is Covered?
Federally, the PWFA covers employers with 15 or more employees, plus unions and employment agencies. It protects employees, applicants, and former employees.
New Jersey is stricter. The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD) has required reasonable accommodation for pregnancy since 2014, and it applies to employers of any size. A six-person New Jersey employer is not covered by the federal PWFA, but it is covered by state law. Do not read “under 15 employees” as “not my problem.”
What Counts as a Known Limitation?
A “known limitation” is a physical or mental condition related to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition that the employee has communicated to you. It can be minor. It can come and go. It can also be a need for prenatal appointments or recovery after childbirth. Common examples include morning sickness, back pain, swelling, lactation, miscarriage recovery, and postpartum depression.
The employee must also be “qualified,” meaning she can do the essential functions of the job with or without accommodation. There is a twist: an employee can still be qualified if she cannot do an essential function temporarily, the inability is expected to end in the near future, and you can reasonably accommodate it. For pregnancy, the EEOC treats the near future as generally within 40 weeks.
As with the ADA, there are no magic words. “My doctor wants me off my feet more” is a request. Notice to any supervisor is notice to the company, so your managers need to know what to do with it.
The Four Predictable Accommodations
The EEOC identified four accommodations that, in virtually all cases, are reasonable and will not be an undue hardship. Think of them as the “just say yes” list:
- Allowing the employee to keep water nearby and drink as needed.
- Allowing additional restroom breaks.
- Allowing a standing employee to sit, or a sitting employee to stand, as needed.
- Allowing breaks to eat and drink as needed.
Straight up: if a request lands on this list, approve it promptly and document it. Making an employee jump through hoops over a stool or a water bottle is a good way to turn a non-issue into a charge. Other common accommodations include schedule changes, light duty, temporary transfers, schedule flexibility for prenatal appointments, a private space for lactation, and modified uniforms or equipment.
Leave, Schedule Changes and Suspending an Essential Function
Rule 1: Leave is a reasonable accommodation under the PWFA.
Rule 2: So is a temporary change to the schedule.
Rule 3: The rule also says an employer may need to temporarily suspend an essential function of the job.
These automatic rules of the PWFA are real differences from the ADA, where you:
- Generally have the right to review whether a leave or schedule change is warranted as a reasonable accommodation through the interactive process; and
- The ADA generally does not require you to remove an essential function.
When the request is to suspend an essential function, the undue hardship analysis adds factors: how long the inability will last, whether other employees or temporary workers can cover the task, how often the function comes up, and whether it can be postponed. A short suspension of a task that comes up occasionally looks very different from a long suspension of the core of the job.
PRO TIP: When a request involves suspending an essential function or an extended leave, do not decide it alone at the front desk. In our non-legal opinion, this is where owners get hurt: a quick “no” made without a documented analysis. Don’t have an HR person to run it? Get one here!
What You Cannot Do
If another effective accommodation works, you cannot force an employee onto leave.
The PWFA bars several moves that feel like common sense to a busy owner:
- Forcing leave. You cannot require an employee to take paid or unpaid leave if another effective accommodation is available, unless it would cause an undue hardship.
- Denying a job opportunity because you would have to accommodate her.
- Taking adverse action against an employee for asking for or using an accommodation.
- Retaliating, coercing, or interfering with someone who asks, complains, or takes part in a PWFA proceeding.
- Delaying without a reason. The EEOC says unnecessary delay can violate the law even if you eventually grant the accommodation.
The same pattern shows up in the ADA. Employers get in trouble less for what they decide than for how they handle the request and what happens to the employee afterward. Our write-up of the recent EEOC lawsuits against BNSF and Solera shows how that plays out when a termination follows a request.
Documentation: What You Can and Cannot Ask For
You are not required to ask for documentation. When you do, it must be reasonable under the circumstances, and limited to the minimum needed to confirm the condition, confirm its connection to pregnancy or childbirth, and describe the change the employee needs. When the need is obvious, or the request is one of the four predictable accommodations or a lactation accommodation, a documentation request is generally not reasonable.
There is a second trap. You cannot blame missing paperwork for a denial or a delay unless you asked reasonably and gave the employee enough time to respond. And keep what you receive confidential, in a medical file separate from the personnel file. Sharing more than a supervisor needs to carry out the accommodation can itself be a violation.
PRO TIP: Trust me, the fastest way to create a claim is to send a pregnant employee a long medical form to prove she needs a stool to put up her feet at work. Ask what she needs and then make it happen. Ask for paperwork ONLY when the situation calls for it. Not sure where that line is? Talk to an HR expert before you send the form.
PWFA vs ADA vs NJLAD: Which Law Applies?
Often, more than one. A single pregnancy-related request can fall under all three laws at once, and you must meet the strictest standard that applies.
| PWFA | ADA | NJLAD | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Employer size | 15 or more | 15 or more | Any size |
| What triggers it | Known limitation from pregnancy, childbirth, or a related condition. No disability needed. | A disability, including some pregnancy complications | Pregnancy, childbirth, or a related condition, and also disability |
| Leave | Can be a required accommodation | Can be a reasonable accommodation | Job-protected leave beyond FMLA can be an accommodation |
Leave rules stack on top of this. Depending on your size and the facts, FMLA and the New Jersey Family Leave Act can apply to the same absence. We will walk through how those fit together in a separate guide. For now, do not let the end of one leave law end your analysis.
What May Change in 2026 or 2027
Two things to know: First, the abortion accommodation provision of the EEOC’s rule was vacated by a federal court in May 2025. The rest of the April 2024 rule remains in effect.
Second, the EEOC’s 2026 regulatory agenda lists a proposed rule to revise how the PWFA regulations interpret “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions,” with an expected date of November 2026. News reports say the agency may stop listing conditions such as fertility treatment, endometriosis, and contraception as covered on their own, and may widen religious exemptions. As of this update, the EEOC has not confirmed those changes and no revised rule has been published. Core protections, such as breaks, seating, and time off for prenatal care, are not reported to be at risk. A proposed rule would also go through public comment before it takes effect.
Even if the federal rule narrows, New Jersey law does not change with it. Plan on the NJLAD as your floor.
If the new rule is published, we will note it in our HR News section.
Building a Process That Works Every Time
Four pieces make this repeatable. Put a written pregnancy and lactation accommodation policy in your employee handbook. Train managers to recognize a request and route it to HR promptly. Name one person who owns every request. Keep a dated log for each one. Also confirm your workplace poster is the current EEOC “Know Your Rights” version, which includes the PWFA.
Free template: our ADA Interactive Process Documentation Log works for pregnancy-related requests too. It is at the end of this guide. Jump to it now, or keep reading.
In a small company, pregnancy requests are infrequent, so nobody builds the habit, and a request often lands on an owner or office manager with a full plate. That is the situation we are built for. My Virtual HR Director acts as the HR department for dozens of employers. A dedicated, senior HR team led by an SPHR owns your accommodation process: we take the request, run the conversations with your managers, keep the documentation, and flag the points where you should call counsel. Read how our outsourced HR department works, or see the signs in when to outsource HR.
Have a Pregnancy-Related Request on Your Desk?
Talk to a senior HR expert before you respond. A first reply that is too fast, too slow, or asks for too much can create the exposure you are trying to avoid.
Talk to an HR ExpertFrequently Asked Questions
Does the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act apply to small businesses?
Federally, it applies to employers with 15 or more employees. New Jersey employers of any size must provide reasonable accommodation for pregnancy under the NJLAD, so a small New Jersey employer is still covered.
Does an employee have to be disabled to get a PWFA accommodation?
No. The PWFA covers known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, and related conditions whether or not they are ADA disabilities.
Can I require a doctor’s note for a pregnancy accommodation?
Only when it is reasonable under the circumstances, and only for the minimum information you need. It is generally not reasonable when the need is obvious or the request is for one of the four predictable accommodations or a lactation accommodation.
Can I make a pregnant employee take leave instead of accommodating her?
Not if another effective accommodation is available, unless that accommodation would cause an undue hardship. Leave can be an accommodation, but it cannot be forced on the employee as a substitute for one.
What are the four predictable PWFA accommodations?
Keeping water nearby and drinking as needed, additional restroom breaks, sitting or standing as needed, and breaks to eat and drink as needed.
Is the PWFA rule changing?
The EEOC’s 2026 agenda lists a proposed revision, expected in November 2026. As of this update, no revised rule has been published. The current rule remains in effect, except the abortion accommodation provision, which a court vacated in May 2025.
Get the Free Documentation Log
You now have the rules. The log helps you keep the record. It is a three-page printable PDF built for the ADA interactive process, and it fits pregnancy-related requests just as well: the request, every conversation, limitations, documentation, options considered, the decision, and follow-up. Enter your details and the link appears, with a copy sent to your inbox.
Have a live request and want a second set of eyes? Talk to an HR expert before you respond.
About This Guide
This guide was written by My Virtual HR Director, a New Jersey HR outsourcing firm led by an HR professional holding the SPHR credential, with HR experience since 1996. We serve employers in New Jersey and nationwide.
This article is general information for employers and is not legal advice. Laws and regulations change, and the right answer depends on the facts. Consult employment counsel on high-risk decisions, including denials and terminations.