WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, blasted the Biden administration for disregarding legislative text and injecting abortion politics into its proposed enforcement regulations for the bipartisan Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) that was passed by Congress in December of 2022. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released their proposed PWFA regulations for public inspection earlier today.
Cassidy was the lead Republican cosponsor of PWFA, which allowed access to reasonable workplace accommodations for pregnant workers or those affected with medical conditions related to childbirth. Despite no allowance present in the legislation, the Biden administration regulation attempts to categorize abortion as a “related medical condition” with the intention to afford legal protections in the workplace under the law. The legislation originally passed with overwhelmingly bipartisan support with the intent that abortion would not be included.
“The Biden administration has gone rogue. These regulations completely disregard legislative intent and attempt to rewrite the law by regulation,” said Dr. Cassidy. “The Biden administration has to enforce the law as passed by Congress, not how they wish it was passed. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is aimed at assisting pregnant mothers who remain in the workforce by choice or necessity as they bring their child to term and recover after childbirth. The decision to disregard the legislative process to inject a political abortion agenda is illegal and deeply concerning.”
Earlier this year, Cassidy called out the Biden administration on its failure to provide proposed rules on worker accommodations as required by the PWFA and allow public feedback.