The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) continues to signal that pregnancy discrimination and pregnancy accommodation practices remain important agency enforcement concerns. First, on June 4, 2026, the EEOC adopted its new National Enforcement Plan for fiscal years 2025 through 2029. The Plan specifically identifies as an enforcement priority those cases that may help develop and define the scope of employer liability under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). Second, it recently filed two lawsuits, including one against an Oklahoma employer, highlighting the different legal risks that may arise when an employee becomes pregnant, discloses their pregnancy to the employer, requests a workplace modification, or experiences a pregnancy-related medical condition.
Pregnancy-related laws
Pregnancy-related employment issues can implicate several federal laws. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on sex and, as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, prohibits discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. Title VII applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including hiring, compensation, assignments, promotion, discipline, reduction in hours, and termination. Title VII may also apply when an employer treats a pregnant employee less favorably than other employees who are similar situated in their ability or inability to work.
Pregnancy itself is not a disability under the ADA, but certain pregnancy-related physical or mental impairments may qualify as disabilities under the law. For example, an employee experiencing a qualifying pregnancy-related medical condition may be entitled to a reasonable accommodation under the ADA
The PWFA, which became effective in 2023, generally requires employers with at least 15 employees to provide reasonable accommodations to address limitations of qualified employees and applicants related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship. The PWFA is principally an accommodation law, and it applies even if an individual has a healthy pregnancy (i.e., no pregnancy-related disability). It does not replace Title VII’s prohibition against pregnancy discrimination or other state and local protections.
An employer must ensure compliance with Title VII, the ADA, and the PWFA. A request for additional breaks, temporary relief from strenuous work, or pregnancy-related leave may trigger the PWFA. If the request arises from a medical condition associated with the pregnancy, it may also trigger obligations under the ADA. And if the employee is disciplined or discharged because of the pregnancy or accommodation request, the same dispute may support claims under one or more of Title VII, the PWFA, and the ADA.
The recent EEOC cases
On July 1, 2026, the EEOC announced that it had filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma against a local homebuilder. According to the EEOC, the company terminated a sales employee less than two weeks after learning that she was pregnant. The EEOC alleges that the company attributed the termination to policy violations, as well as low home sales, but it had previously told the employee she was doing a good job. It also alleges that the company retained a male employee who had a similar period of employment and comparable performance. The agency also alleges that members of sales management had made repeated comments warning female employees not to “drink the water” because women would become pregnant and leave.
Regional attorney for the EEOC Andrea G. Baran stated, “Firing a worker simply because she is pregnant — or because an employer assumes she will not return after maternity leave — is illegal…. These assumptions are rooted in stereotypes and they have no place at work.”
On July 15, 2026, the EEOC announced a second lawsuit against Step2 Company, LLC, a toy and plastic products manufacturer operating facilities in northern Ohio. The lawsuit alleges violations of the PWFA, ADA, and Title VII, as well as unlawful retaliation and interference. According to the EEOC, Step2 disciplined an assembly employee under its attendance policy for absences related to pregnancy-associated medical conditions and chronic mental health conditions. The agency further alleges that the employer denied the employee’s requests to sit briefly between assemblies, take more frequent breaks, and avoid highly strenuous assembly tasks. The EEOC claims the company retaliated against the employee for requesting accommodations, interfered with accommodation requests, and terminated her in July 2024.
Reminders
While these cases are in the early stages and the allegations have not been proven, they should cause employers to reflect on their own workplace conduct, policies, and practices. Here are a few pointers to keep in mind with respect to pregnancy in the workplace
- Comments: Pregnancy-related comments may be intended or dismissed as jokes or casual observations. In litigation, however, such statements can be effectively used to challenge or undermine an employer’s explanation for an adverse action, particularly when the comments are made by managers involved in the decision.
- Assumptions/Stereotypes: Supervisors and management should be trained to avoid assumptions about an employee’s pregnancy. For example, a supervisor cannot assume that the employee will be unable to safely perform their job, will be less committed to their job duties, will take more leave than needed, or will fail to return to work after giving birth.
- Performance management: Concerns about an employee’s performance should be addressed in a timely manner through the employer’s ordinary performance-management process. Pregnancy should not alter the standards applied, but it also does not excuse poor performance. Employers should ensure that documented performance concerns are legitimate, contemporaneous, and consistent with prior feedback.
- Accommodations: The PWFA may require an employer to modify a generally applicable policy when doing so would reasonably accommodate a known pregnancy-related limitation without causing undue hardship. Possible accommodations include additional breaks, schedule changes, leave for healthcare appointments, part-time work, temporary reassignment, light duty, telework, etc. It is very important for an employer to carefully consider whether to assess attendance points under its policy if the absences relate to pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition.
- Individualized assessment: An employer must act on a case-by-case basis. Each pregnant employee presents different symptoms, requests, medical issues, job duties, departments, and working environments. Employers must always conduct an individualized assessment rather than relying on generalized assumptions about operational inconvenience, business needs, job requirements, or the uniform application of a company policy.
- Don’t forget about the FMLA:To make things even more complex, a pregnant employee may also qualify for job-protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). For eligible employees, the FMLA allows leave for an employee’s serious health condition (which could be a pregnancy-related condition, like preeclampsia, for example), and also to give birth and bond with the newborn child.
- Retaliation is its own separate risk: The Step2 lawsuit is notable because the EEOC is not limiting its allegations to the denial of accommodations. It is also alleging retaliation against the employee for requesting accommodations under the ADA and PWFA. Pressuring an employee to withdraw an accommodation request, treating the employee negatively after making the request, or altering the terms of an employee’s employment could be considered retaliatory conduct. Employers must consider not only the ultimate decision on a requested accommodation but monitor how the employee is treated throughout and after the process.
The takeaways
Employers must be vigilant and ready to comply with obligations imposed by Title VII, the PWFA, the FMLA, and the ADA. In light of the EEOC’s pregnancy-related enforcement priorities, employers should review accommodation policies for legal compliance and train supervisors and managers on how to handle pregnancy-related requests and coordinate with Human Resources for support. Employers must ensure that pregnancy-related decisions result from a prompt, individualized, and well-documented process. An employer must be able to explain – and prove – what the employee requested, the alternatives considered, whether a particular accommodation would have been reasonable and effective or would have caused an undue hardship, and why the final decision was made.
