Dear Chairman Scott and Ranking Member Foxx:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce strongly supports H.R. 1065, the “Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA).” This bipartisan compromise would protect the interests of both pregnant employees and their employers, and the committee should approve it with no changes. In the 116th Congress it passed the House by an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote of 329-73. Members of Congress who cosponsor H.R. 1065 unamended will receive credit for the Leadership component of the Chamber’s “How They Voted” scorecard.
Employers currently face great uncertainty about whether, and how, they are required to accommodate pregnant workers. The PWFA would clarify an employer’s obligation to accommodate a pregnant employee or applicant with a known limitation that interferes with her ability to perform some essential functions of her position.
The PWFA takes advantage of the widely known and accepted interactive process associated with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that is used to find reasonable accommodations for employees covered by the ADA, and also carries forward the 15-or-more-employee threshold from the ADA.
The Chamber worked extensively with advocates for this bill to find bipartisan agreement. This important bill is a reminder that through good faith negotiations, legislative solutions to important questions and problems can be achieved. We urge the Committee to approve the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act without changes.
Sincerely,
Neil L. Bradley
cc: Members of the Committee on Education and Labor
