A federal appeals court has ruled that a lawsuit filed by 17 states challenging federal rules on abortion accommodations in the workplace can move forward. The decision by the Eighth Circuit Court reverses a previous ruling by U.S. District Judge D.P. Marshall, Jr., who had dismissed the case in June, stating that the states lacked standing to sue.
The lawsuit, led by Republican attorneys general from Tennessee and Arkansas, targets the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) over its implementation of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. This bipartisan law, passed in 2022, requires employers to provide “reasonable accommodations” for pregnant or postpartum employees. The EEOC’s rules include time off for prenatal appointments, additional bathroom breaks, and permission to carry snacks. They also allow workers to request time off for abortions and recovery.
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti criticized the EEOC’s regulations, calling them an “ideological weapon” that undermines constitutional authority. He welcomed the court’s decision to allow the lawsuit to proceed.
The lawsuit is supported by attorneys general from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and West Virginia. It is part of broader legal challenges to the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, with another case in Texas seeking to overturn the law entirely.
The Eighth Circuit Court’s decision comes after a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that opened the door to state abortion bans. Recently, bills to track and charge women who get abortions with murder have gained attention in Missouri, North Dakota, and Oklahoma.
The EEOC, which enforces U.S. anti-discrimination laws, published regulations under the Biden administration that include abortion as a covered medical condition, citing decades of legal precedent. However, many Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Bill Cassidy, who co-sponsored the bill, opposed the inclusion of abortion.
A Better Balance, an advocacy group that supported the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, criticized the court’s decision as an attack on reproductive choice. Despite the legal challenges, the law remains in effect, and workers can still seek accommodations for pregnancy-related needs, including abortion.
The Department of Justice represents the EEOC in court, and it remains to be seen how the new administration will handle the lawsuit. The EEOC’s acting chair, Andrea Lucas, has expressed intentions to reconsider parts of the rules once a quorum is re-established.
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