The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: What Ohio Employees Need to Know

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) is one of the most important employment laws of the past decade, and many Ohio employees still do not know it exists. Effective June 27, 2023, the PWFA fills a long-standing gap in federal law by requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions. Pregnant workers no longer have to argue, as they often did under the older Pregnancy Discrimination Act, that an employer treated them worse than someone with a comparable non-pregnancy condition. The PWFA establishes an affirmative right to accommodation in its own terms.

What the PWFA Requires

The PWFA requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations to a qualified employee or applicant for known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation would cause the employer an undue hardship. The structure tracks the Americans with Disabilities Act, but the PWFA is broader in important ways.

A "known limitation" is any physical or mental condition related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition that the employee has communicated to the employer. The condition does not need to rise to the level of a disability, which is a critical difference from the ADA. Common pregnancy symptoms like morning sickness, fatigue, and back pain are covered if they are limiting the employee in some way at work.

How the PWFA Differs From the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the ADA

Before the PWFA, pregnant workers had two main federal options, and both were imperfect.

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 prohibited discrimination based on pregnancy but did not require accommodations. An employee who needed lighter duty or a modified schedule could only argue that the employer had to provide it if the employer was already providing comparable accommodations to non-pregnant workers similar in their ability to work. Proving that comparator group was often difficult, and many pregnant employees were forced onto unpaid leave or out of their jobs entirely.

The ADA required accommodations but only for conditions that qualified as disabilities. Routine pregnancy was generally not a disability. Some pregnancy-related complications could qualify, but the analysis was uncertain and litigation-heavy.

The PWFA closes the gap. It applies to any pregnancy-related limitation, whether or not it would qualify as a disability, and it imposes an affirmative duty to accommodate.

Who Is Covered

The PWFA covers private employers with 15 or more employees, as well as state and local governments and federal agencies. Smaller Ohio employers may not be covered by the PWFA, but Ohio's Civil Rights Act applies to employers with four or more employees and provides parallel protections in many cases.

Employees and applicants are both covered. The protections apply throughout pregnancy and during the postpartum period, including for conditions like postpartum depression, recovery from cesarean delivery, and lactation.

What Counts as a Reasonable Accommodation

The EEOC's regulations and guidance describe a wide range of accommodations that may be reasonable under the PWFA. Examples include:

• More frequent or longer breaks for water, food, rest, or restroom use
• The ability to sit while working, or to stand if the job is normally seated
• A modified schedule, including later start times for morning sickness
• Time off for prenatal appointments and recovery
• Light duty or temporary reassignment of physically demanding tasks
• A private, non-bathroom space for lactation
• Modifications to uniforms, dress codes, or safety equipment
• Temporary suspension of an essential job function

That last item is significant. Unlike the ADA, the PWFA expressly allows the temporary suspension of essential job functions. An employer cannot refuse an accommodation simply because it would relieve the employee of an essential duty for a defined period.

The Interactive Process

The PWFA requires employers and employees to engage in an interactive process to identify a reasonable accommodation. This is similar to the ADA process. The employee makes a request, the employer asks reasonable follow-up questions if needed, and the parties work together to identify a solution that addresses the limitation without imposing undue hardship.

An employee does not need to use specific legal language. A simple statement that the employee needs a change at work because of pregnancy is enough to trigger the employer's obligations. The EEOC has emphasized that the interactive process should move quickly, given the time-sensitive nature of pregnancy.

Documentation Limits

An employer can only request medical documentation when it is reasonable and necessary to evaluate the request. The EEOC has identified several situations in which an employer should not require documentation, including when the limitation and need are obvious, when the accommodation is something simple like carrying a water bottle or taking additional restroom breaks, when the request is for lactation accommodation, and when the accommodation is one the employer routinely provides without documentation in other contexts.

Retaliation and Coercion Are Prohibited

The PWFA also prohibits retaliation against an employee for requesting an accommodation, opposing unlawful conduct, or participating in a PWFA proceeding. This is a separate violation, and retaliation claims have been a feature of the EEOC's early enforcement actions. An employer who terminates, demotes, or otherwise punishes an employee close in time to a PWFA accommodation request is taking on serious legal risk.

How to Enforce Your Rights

Like other EEOC-enforced statutes, the PWFA requires an employee to file a charge of discrimination with the EEOC before filing a lawsuit. The deadline is generally 300 days from the date of the alleged violation in Ohio, where the EEOC has a work-sharing agreement with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission.

After the EEOC processes the charge, the employee may receive a right-to-sue letter and proceed to federal court. Available remedies include back pay, front pay, compensatory damages, punitive damages in cases of malicious or reckless conduct, attorney's fees, and equitable relief such as reinstatement.

Where the Law Stands in 2026

The PWFA remains in full force nationwide. A constitutional challenge brought by the State of Texas, arguing that the law was improperly enacted because some members of Congress voted by proxy during the COVID-19 era, is pending before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on rehearing en banc as of early 2026. Until and unless the law is invalidated, employers must comply.

The EEOC's regulations implementing the PWFA, issued in April 2024, may be revised under the current administration. Some provisions of the regulations, particularly those addressing accommodations related to abortion, were already enjoined in certain jurisdictions. The core protections of the statute itself, however, are in effect everywhere.

The Bottom Line

If you are pregnant, recently gave birth, or are managing a pregnancy-related medical condition and your employer has refused to accommodate you, forced you onto unpaid leave when other options were available, or punished you for asking, you may have a claim under the PWFA. Documenting the request, the employer's response, and any adverse action that follows is critical. So is acting promptly, given the strict deadlines for filing a charge.