Natasha Jackson, a retail worker in South Carolina, was three months pregnant in 2008 when she asked her employer for light duty work to avoid health complications. Her request was denied, she was sent home on unpaid leave and was never allowed back, even months after giving birth.
“I went from financially thriving to homeless in just a few months,” Jackson recounted at a White House event earlier this year celebrating 30 years of the landmark Family and Medical Leave Act, as well as the recently passed Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act.
Because of those two new pieces of legislation, this Mother’s Day, moms like Jackson finally have reason to celebrate. In June, PWFA is set to go into effect changing the health and economic trajectory for millions of women and families.
The PWFA closes a pernicious gap in federal civil rights law by guaranteeing that pregnant workers and new moms nationwide have an explicit right to reasonable accommodations at work. Accommodations can include things like light duty, a temporary transfer, telework or job-protected time off to recover from childbirth–so that they can continue doing their jobs and support their families without jeopardizing their health.
And The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, which went into full effect on April 28th, will further promote women’s economic security by affording millions of workers the break time and private space they need to pump during the workday. It will protect women like Sarah Hamblin a health care worker in Kansas, who resorted to pumping milk in her car just once a day after her boss harassed her for pumping at work — even as at least six of her coworkers regularly took smoke breaks throughout the day.
Together, PWFA and the PUMP Act significantly update federal workplace laws to protect millions of expecting and new moms. These laws will ensure that they are no longer required to forego vital income and familial economic security. They are also crucial for maternal and infant health, especially for Black women, as studies have demonstrated deep disparities in Black maternal, fetal and infant health outcomes due to systemic racism and sexism. Workplace accommodations have been proven to reduce pregnancy complications and infant health problems, such as preeclampsia, preterm birth and low birthweight.
For over a decade, my organization, A Better Balance, has heard from thousands of women who were forced off the job during their pregnancy or immediately after childbirth, and demanded a legislative fix.
As we’ve seen countless times, when pregnant workers are pushed out, they are routinely forced to accept lower-paying jobs affecting their long-term financial health and ability to progress and rise in the workplace. Many women turn to public assistance to stay afloat—and are forced into a financial hole they have a difficult time climbing out of—all when a modest accommodation or job-protected paid time off could keep them healthy and attached to the workforce.
Pregnant workers have long suffered this insidious bias, as I told Congress in a 2019 hearing on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, and again during a hearing on workplace discrimination in 2021. For pregnant workers of color, this sex stereotyping is accompanied by additional layers of biases stemming from structural racism, forcing them to make impossible choices between their health and income.
To be sure, more must be done to support women. The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993, which guarantees 12 weeks of job-protected unpaid leave, has proven to be limited for the low-wage working moms who call our free legal helpline. Often, the workers we hear from don’t work enough hours, or haven’t worked for their employer long enough, to qualify for the law’s protection. Without job-protected leave, they are routinely told to “reapply” for their jobs after giving birth, or outright fired. Others “choose” to leave their jobs without a paycheck. Thirty years after passage of the FMLA, Congress must step up and guarantee job-protected paid family and medical leave for all.
Amidst unprecedented attacks on reproductive rights and surging maternal mortality, it has been difficult to feel hopeful about women’s rights. But the passage of the PWFA and PUMP Act are worth celebrating. They deliver long overdue respect, equality and opportunity for millions of working moms.
Knowledge is power, and this Mother’s Day, let’s spread awareness of these historic wins and ensure new and expecting moms in America are equipped to exercise their new workplace rights while we also double down on efforts to secure paid leave and deliver work-family justice for all.
Dina Bakst
Dina Bakst is the co-founder and co-president of national nonprofit work-family legal advocacy organization A Better Balance.