The EEOC is attacking protections for pregnant women.
Voters handed the President's party a sweeping defeat on November 3, including here in Texas. However, as I write this, the EEOC's plan to cut back pregnancy protections is still on its official agenda, with a proposal targeted for November. The election changed Congress. It didn't change who runs the EEOC.
The agenda entry says the EEOC plans to revise how it interprets "pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions," among other changes. Those words decide what the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act covers.
Andrea Lucas, now the EEOC's chair, voted against the current rule in 2024. "This is the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act after all," she wrote, "not the Female Workers Fairness Act or the Female Reproductive System Accommodation Act."
The EEOC hasn't said what it will cut. The New York Times reported that the proposal could drop explicit coverage of conditions not tied to a current pregnancy, like fertility treatment, endometriosis, and contraception, and could widen religious exemptions for employers. Ogletree Deakins, writing for employers, says the EEOC can be expected to propose removing protections relating to "infertility, menstruation, use of birth control, and past pregnancy."
Both say the core protections during pregnancy are expected to stay. So think about who gets left out. The woman going through IVF who needs her schedule to work around monitoring appointments. The woman with endometriosis. Today the rule names their conditions. Take those words out, and plenty of employers will read it as permission to refuse accommodations to these women.
A narrower rule changes what the EEOC will pursue. It doesn't change what Congress wrote. If your employer has 15 or more employees, the law itself still requires it to reasonably accommodate a qualified worker's known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless that would be an undue hardship. Your employer can't make you take leave if another reasonable accommodation can be provided. It can't punish you for asking. The Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Texas Labor Code also ban pregnancy discrimination.
Nothing has changed yet. No proposal has been published. It hasn't even reached White House review, so the November target will probably slip. Until a new rule is final, the 2024 rule stays in effect, minus the elective-abortion provisions a federal court threw out in May 2025.
So if you're pregnant or trying to be, or have a related condition, and you need an accommodation, ask now. The law doesn't require a written request. Put it in writing anyway, and keep a copy of every answer. If the answer is no, or you're punished for asking, don't wait. The deadlines to file a charge are short.
Voters had their say on November 3rd. When the proposal comes out, the public gets a say in that too. Keep following here for instructions on how to do that once the rule is proposed.
Sources:
HR Dive, Nov. 3, 2026: https://www.hrdive.com/news/eeoc-signals-rollback-to-pregnant-workers-fairness-act-protections/873603/
EEOC regulatory agenda entry, RIN 3046-AB36: https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=202510&RIN=3046-AB36
Andrea Lucas statement on the 2024 rule: https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2025-01/Lucas_Statement_re_PWFA_Final_Rule_%2804.2024%29.pdf
The New York Times, Nov. 2, 2026: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/11/02/business/economy/eeoc-trump-administration-pregnancy-fertility-abortion.html
AJMC on the Times report, Nov. 5, 2026: https://www.ajmc.com/view/eeoc-reportedly-plans-to-narrow-pregnancy-accommodation-rules
Medical Daily on the Times report, Nov. 4, 2026: https://www.medicaldaily.com/eeoc-pregnancy-accommodation-rules-changes-480771
Ogletree Deakins in the National Law Review, Nov. 4, 2026: https://natlawreview.com/article/narrower-pwfa-rule-horizon-eeocs-pregnancy-accommodation-enforcement-not-slowing
Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, 42 U.S.C. 2000gg to 2000gg-6: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title42/html/USCODE-2024-title42-chap21G.htm
EEOC PWFA rule, 29 C.F.R. part 1636: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-XIV/part-1636
Pregnancy Discrimination Act, 42 U.S.C. 2000e(k): https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2024-title42/html/USCODE-2024-title42-chap21-subchapVI-sec2000e.htm
Texas Labor Code ch. 21 (sec. 21.106): https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/LA/htm/LA.21.htm#21.106
Rules under White House review (OIRA): https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eoReviewSearch