PWFA enjoys wide support

The Sun rightly noted in its Dec. 19 editorial, “Job discrimination against pregnant women damages families, workplace,” that pregnant workers are routinely forced to choose between a healthy pregnancy and a paycheck at a time when they may need their income the most to support a growing family.

No pregnant worker should be pushed out of work because they need a properly fitting uniform to accommodate their growing pregnancy or an extra bathroom break.

However, in my opinion, the editorial made a mischaracterization in saying the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) is facing “headwinds.” In fact, this bill has enjoyed broad bipartisan support in Congress, passing the House with 99 Republican votes as well as 216 Democrats, and backing continues to grow. On Aug. 3, the PWFA was voted out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee with overwhelming bipartisan support (19-2).

The PWFA is a common-sense piece of legislation that’s urgently needed. That’s why a coalition of unlikely bedfellows — including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Society for Human Resource Management, individual employers like Facebook and Mastercard, ACLU, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, United Steelworkers union, March of Dimes, and many others — support it. Pregnant workers can’t afford to wait any longer for this critical bill.

The writer is vice president for education and workplace justice at the National Women’s Law Center.