CHICAGO (AP) — A lawsuit filed by 17 states challenging federal rules that allow workers to receive time off in lieu and other abortion relief is inadmissible, a federal judge in Arkansas ruled Friday.
Republican attorneys general in both states, led by Arkansas and Tennessee, sued the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in April, days after the agency released rules for employers and employees to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, a 2022 law that requires many employers to provide “reasonable accommodations” for pregnant or postpartum workers.
In addition to more routine workplace accommodations for pregnancy, such as time off for prenatal visits, more bathroom breaks or permission to bring snacks, the rules state that employees can ask for time off to have an abortion and recover from the procedure.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Arkansas, argues that the regulations go beyond the scope of the law passed with bipartisan support in 2022.
U.S. District Judge DP Marshall Jr. for the Eastern District of Arkansas, appointed by former President Barack Obama, denied the states’ request for a nationwide injunction on the federal rules, which are set to take effect Tuesday.
“The states’ fear of overreach by one branch of the federal government cannot be cured by overreach by another branch,” Friday’s decision said.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said in a statement provided by a spokesman that he was “disappointed with the court’s decision” and “is exploring all legal options and remains confident that we will ultimately succeed.”
The other states that have joined the lawsuit are Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah and West Virginia.
The EEOC regulations are also being challenged in another federal case in Louisiana that has yet to be decided. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, along with other religious groups, filed a separate lawsuit over the abortion regulations in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. That case has been consolidated with a lawsuit filed by the attorneys general of Louisiana and Mississippi, who are also asking the judge to delay enforcement of the EEOC rules pending the outcome of that case.
The American Civil Liberties Union and more than 20 labor and women’s rights groups, including A Better Balance, a nonprofit that led the decade-long campaign to pass the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, filed amicus curiae briefs in both cases arguing that the EEOC rules should go into effect as scheduled and calling them key to the law’s successful implementation.
“Today’s ruling in Tennessee v. EEOC is a victory for millions of pregnant and postpartum workers across the country because it allows the provisions of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) to take effect next week and provides important clarity on how the law works in practice,” said Dina Bakst of A Better Balance.
In their briefs, the groups cited dozens of examples of pregnant workers who had contacted advocacy groups or filed lawsuits alleging that employers continued to deny them accommodations in violation of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.
“The compensation sought in this case is completely excessive and would have harmed literally millions of people,” said Gillian Thomas, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project, referring to the Arkansas lawsuit. “The law has been in effect for a year and employers are violating it in the most egregious ways and clearly need guidance.”
The EEOC stated in its rules that it was following decades-old legal precedent that established pregnancy anti-discrimination laws include abortion.
Abortion rights activists have also cited the protections provided by the EEOC rules as particularly essential after the Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion. Women in states with strict abortion restrictions increasingly have to travel long distances to have surgery and need time off to do so.
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