Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, a bipartisan proposal that will finally secure clear protection for pregnant workers.

Pregnant women should not have to risk their lives on the job. Yet, too often, instead of offering accommodations routinely given to other employees, a pregnant worker risks termination, meaning she loses her paycheck and health insurance right when she needs them the most.

We know that COVID-19 has exacerbated health inequalities for women, especially women of color.

Before the pandemic, moms in the U.S. already struggled and died from pregnancy-related causes at the highest rate in the developed world, with Black moms dying three to four times the rate of their White peers.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter on behalf of maternal health organizations who support putting a national pregnancy accommodation standard in place. May 11, 2021. Re Support the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.

Dear Representative: The undersigned organizations dedicated to assuring quality maternal, infant, and child health and well-being, improving pregnancy and birth outcomes, and closing racial disparities in maternal health enthusiastically support the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (H.R. 1065). Modeled after the Americans with Disabilities Act, the bill would require employers to provide reasonable, temporary workplace accommodations to pregnant workers as long as the accommodation does not impose an undue hardship on the employer. This bill is critically important because no one should have to choose between having a healthy pregnancy and a paycheck.

Congress must do all it can to end the prejudice pregnant workers, especially Black pregnant workers and workers of color, continue to face in the workplace. This includes making sure when pregnant workers voice a need for reasonable accommodations that those needs are met rather than penalized and that the workplace is an environment where pregnant workers do not fear asking for the accommodations they need to maintain their health.

Three-quarters of women will be pregnant and employed at some point in their lives. Most pregnant workers can expect a routine pregnancy and healthy birth. However, health care professionals have consistently recommended that some pregnant individuals make adjustments in their work activities to sustain a healthy pregnancy and prevent adverse pregnancy outcomes, including preterm birth or miscarriage. These medically necessary workplace accommodations can include allowing additional bathroom breaks, opportunities to stay hydrated, lifting restrictions, or access to a chair or stool to decrease time spent standing.

Unfortunately, too many pregnant workers, particularly pregnant people of color, face barriers to incorporating even these small changes to their workdays. For example, Black women experience maternal mortality rates three to four times higher than white women, with Indigenous women similarly experiencing disproportionately high rates. The circumstances surrounding these alarming statistics can often be attributed to a lack of access to care, including due to inflexible workplaces, and deep biases in racial understanding. Various social determinants such as health, education, and economic status drastically influence the outcomes of pregnancy for Black women leading to severe pregnancy-related complications. As the Black Mamas Matter Alliance has pointed out ``Health is determined in part by our access to social and economic opportunities, the resources and supports that are available in the places where we live, and the safety of our Workplaces . . . however, disparities in these conditions of daily life give some people better opportunities to be healthy than others. Black pregnant workers along with Latinx and immigrant women are disproportionately likely to work in physically demanding jobs that may lead to workers needing modest accommodations to ensure a healthy pregnancy. Too often, however, those requests are refused or ignored, forcing pregnant workers of color to disproportionately contend with unsafe working conditions.

Furthermore, Black mothers have among the highest labor force participation rates in the country and 80 percent of Black mothers are their family's primary breadwinner. Yet, historically, Black women have been exploited in the workplace, and that exploitation continues to this day. Though Black women only comprise 14.3 percent of the population, nearly thirty percent of pregnancy discrimination complaints are filed by Black women. This is because of the multiple forms of discrimination Black workers and other workers of color too often face in the workplace. As scholar Nina Banks has noted, ``The legacy of black women's employment in industries that lack worker protections has continued today since black women are concentrated in low- paying, inflexible service occupations . . .'' Black women in low wage jobs working during pregnancy face little support from employers when safeguards do not address pregnancy related accommodations. Faced with the threat of termination, loss of health insurance, or other benefits, Black pregnant people are often forced to keep working which can compromise their health and the health of their pregnancy.

Workplace accommodations help safeguard a healthy pregnancy or prevent harm to a higher-risk pregnancy. Across the country, pregnant workers continue to be denied simple, no- cost or lowcost, temporary adjustments in their work settings or activities and instead risk being fired or forced to take unpaid leave to preserve the health of their pregnancy.

This impossible choice forces many pregnant workers to continue working without accommodations, putting women and their pregnancies at risk of long-lasting and severe health consequences. When pregnant workers must continue working without accommodations, they risk miscarriage, excessive bleeding, and other devastating health consequences. Black women have the highest incidence of preterm birth and yet we know that workplace accommodations such as reducing heavy lifting, bending, or excessive standing can help prevent preterm birth, the leading cause of infant mortality in this country.

Black women also experience higher rates of preeclampsia, which is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality. We are still learning about how to prevent this dangerous medical condition, yet we know that simply allowing workers to take bathroom breaks can prevent urinary tract infections which are ``strongly associated with preeclampsia.'' Similarly, ensuring pregnant workers can drink a sufficient amount of water can also help pregnant workers maintain their blood pressure, which is critically important since hypertensive disorders (high blood pressure) are also a leading cause of maternal morbidity and mortality. By putting a national pregnancy accommodation standard in place, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act has the potential to improve some of the most serious health consequences Black pregnant people experience. Furthermore, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act will help remove one of the many barriers Black pregnant people face at work by ensuring they are afforded immediate relief under the law, and not thrown into financial dire straits for needing pregnancy accommodations.

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is a measured approach to a serious problem. As organizations dedicated to maternal health and closing racial disparities in pregnancy and birth outcomes, we understand the importance of reasonable workplace accommodations to ensure that pregnant persons can continue to provide for their families and have safe and healthy pregnancies. We collectively urge swift passage of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Sincerely,

Black Mamas Matter Alliance; March of Dimes; National WIC Association; 1,000 Days; A Better Balance; Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics; American Academy of Pediatrics; American Civil Liberties Union; American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; Agricultural Justice Project; Ancient Song Doula Services; Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs; Baobab Birth Collective.

Black Women's Health Imperative; Breastfeeding in Combat Boots; California WIC Association; Centering Equity, Race & Cultural Literacy in Family Planning (CERCL-FP); Earth Action, Inc.; Farmworker and Landscaper Advocacy Project; Farmworker Association of Florida; Feminist Women's Health Center; First Focus Campaign for Children; Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia; Healthy Women; Human Rights Watch; Mom2Mom Global; NARAL Pro-Choice America.

National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health; National Birth Equity Collaborative; National Partnership for Women & Families; National Women's Health Network; National Women's Law Center; Nebraska WIC Association; Nurse-Family Partnership; Physicians for Reproductive Health; Planned Parenthood Federation of America; Public Citizen; SisterReach; SisterSong National Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective; U.S. Breastfeeding Committee; Workplace Fairness; Wisconsin WIC Association; ZERO TO THREE.

Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act can improve some of the most serious health consequences Black pregnant women experience in the workplace.

Federal protections for pregnant workers are stuck in the 1950s. In 2021, it is past time for workplaces to accommodate our families and protect all pregnant workers. It is women and families who keep our economy and communities running.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''

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