What The Hell America!

Denied accommodations during my pregnancy, I fought back. Now, thanks to the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, fewer women will have to face the same struggle.

This essay is a part of our latest installment of Women & Democracy all about the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA)—a groundbreaking civil rights law ensuring pregnant and postpartum workers have the right to reasonable workplace accommodations. Bipartisan, pro-family and boldly feminist, the PWFA is both a lesson in democracy and a battleground for its defense against antidemocratic attacks. The multimedia project, “The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Is Essential to Democracy,” was produced in partnership with A Better Balance and explores the decade-long fight for the law’s passage, its impact—particularly on women in low-wage jobs and women of color—and the legal and organizing strategies shaping its future.

As a family services worker for the state of New Jersey, my job is to ensure the health and safety of young children in state custody. But during my own difficult pregnancy almost a decade ago, my employer didn’t look out for my health or the health of my pregnancy. Instead of accommodating me with temporary light duty so I could follow my doctor’s orders and continue working, human resources told me I needed to take unpaid leave. (My manager initially wanted to work with me and reassigned me to a less strenuous position, but that changed when HR caught wind of the arrangement.) Desperate to keep my job, I even asked my doctor to lift my medical restriction, even though it could compromise my health and pregnancy.

Despite all the stress and worry this caused, my story had a happy ending: A few weeks later, with the assistance of the national legal advocacy group A Better Balance, who wrote a simple letter on my behalf, I asserted my rights under the New Jersey Pregnant Workers Fairness Act—a state law that says employers must accommodate pregnant workers with medical needs absent “undue hardship” to the employer. In a matter of days, I was able to get reinstated in my job and to have a healthy pregnancy and birth. Without this intervention, I would have been forced to risk my health, and when I could do that no longer, would have lost my income and health care when I needed it the most.

I wish I could tell myself then what I know now: that Congress passed the federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) on Dec. 27, 2022, with broad bipartisan support. The law went into effect on June 27, 2023.

But at the time, this was not the reality for millions of pregnant women in America, especially women in low-wage, inflexible and physically demanding jobs. So that’s why, five years ago, I traveled from my home in New Jersey to Washington, D.C., to meet with my representatives and urge them to pass the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. The trip remains vivid since it was one of the last big things I did before lockdown and before the country became devastated by COVID-19. I went to Capitol Hill to share my story so that what happened to me wouldn’t happen to other pregnant women and to tell Congress that depriving women like me the right to maintain a healthy pregnancy is bad for women, families and our entire economy. 

I was honored that my mother and teenage daughter joined me in visiting our nation’s capital. My mother inspires me and taught me to speak up for what is right. I brought along my daughter so that I can be a role model for her—my hope is that when she is ready to start a family, it won’t even cross her mind to worry about pregnancy discrimination at work, and that she will be respected and valued, not treated like she doesn’t matter.

This story was originally published on Oct. 5, 2020, under the headline, “Accommodating Pregnant Workers is a Matter of Reproductive, Economic and Racial Justice.”