I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1065 

To eliminate discrimination and promote women’s health and economic security by ensuring reasonable workplace accommodations for workers whose 

ability to perform the functions of a job are limited by pregnancy, 

childbirth, or a related medical condition. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 15, 2021 

Mr. NADLER (for himself, Mr. KATKO, Mrs. MCBATH, Ms. HERRERA

BEUTLER, and Mr. SCOTT of Virginia) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor, and in 

addition to the Committees on House Administration, Oversight and Reform, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by 

the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To eliminate discrimination and promote women’s health and 

economic security by ensuring reasonable workplace accommodations for workers whose ability to perform the 

functions of a job are limited by pregnancy, childbirth, 

or a related medical condition. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Pregnant Workers 

5 Fairness Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. NONDISCRIMINATION WITH REGARD TO REASON2 ABLE ACCOMMODATIONS RELATED TO PREG3 NANCY. 

4 It shall be an unlawful employment practice for a cov5 ered entity to— 

6 (1) not make reasonable accommodations to the 

7 known limitations related to the pregnancy, child8 birth, or related medical conditions of a qualified 

9 employee, unless such covered entity can dem10 onstrate that the accommodation would impose an 

11 undue hardship on the operation of the business of 

12 such covered entity; 

13 (2) require a qualified employee affected by 

14 pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions 

15 to accept an accommodation other than any reason16 able accommodation arrived at through the inter17 active process referred to in section 5(7); 

18 (3) deny employment opportunities to a quali19 fied employee if such denial is based on the need of 

20 the covered entity to make reasonable accommoda21 tions to the known limitations related to the preg22 nancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions of a 

23 qualified employee; 

24 (4) require a qualified employee to take leave, 

25 whether paid or unpaid, if another reasonable ac26 commodation can be provided to the known limitaVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:07 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1065.IH H1065

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1 tions related to the pregnancy, childbirth, or related 

2 medical conditions of a qualified employee; or 

3 (5) take adverse action in terms, conditions, or 

4 privileges of employment against a qualified em5 ployee on account of the employee requesting or 

6 using a reasonable accommodation to the known lim7 itations related to the pregnancy, childbirth, or re8 lated medical conditions of the employee. 

9 SEC. 3. REMEDIES AND ENFORCEMENT. 

10 (a) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY TITLE VII OF THE

11 CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The powers, remedies, and 

13 procedures provided in sections 705, 706, 707, 709, 

14 710, and 711 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 

15 U.S.C. 2000e–4 et seq.) to the Commission, the At16 torney General, or any person alleging a violation of 

17 title VII of such Act (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.) shall 

18 be the powers, remedies, and procedures this Act 

19 provides to the Commission, the Attorney General, 

20 or any person, respectively, alleging an unlawful em21 ployment practice in violation of this Act against an 

22 employee described in section 5(3)(A) except as pro23 vided in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection. 

24 (2) COSTS AND FEES.—The powers, remedies, 

25 and procedures provided in subsections (b) and (c) 


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1 of section 722 of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 

2 1988) shall be the powers, remedies, and procedures 

3 this Act provides to the Commission, the Attorney 

4 General, or any person alleging such practice. 

5 (3) DAMAGES.—The powers, remedies, and pro6 cedures provided in section 1977A of the Revised 

7 Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981a), including the limita8 tions contained in subsection (b)(3) of such section 

9 1977A, shall be the powers, remedies, and proce10 dures this Act provides to the Commission, the At11 torney General, or any person alleging such practice 

12 (not an employment practice specifically excluded 

13 from coverage under section 1977A(a)(1) of the Re14 vised Statutes). 

15 (b) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CONGRESSIONAL AC16 COUNTABILITY ACT OF 1995.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The powers, remedies, and 

18 procedures provided in the Congressional Account19 ability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) to the 

20 Board (as defined in section 101 of such Act (2 

21 U.S.C. 1301)) or any person alleging a violation of 

22 section 201(a)(1) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1311(a)(1)) 

23 shall be the powers, remedies, and procedures this 

24 Act provides to the Board or any person, respec25 tively, alleging an unlawful employment practice in 


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1 violation of this Act against an employee described 

2 in section 5(3)(B), except as provided in paragraphs 

3 (2) and (3) of this subsection. 

4 (2) COSTS AND FEES.—The powers, remedies, 

5 and procedures provided in subsections (b) and (c) 

6 of section 722 of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 

7 1988) shall be the powers, remedies, and procedures 

8 this Act provides to the Board or any person alleg9 ing such practice. 

10 (3) DAMAGES.—The powers, remedies, and pro11 cedures provided in section 1977A of the Revised 

12 Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981a), including the limita13 tions contained in subsection (b)(3) of such section 

14 1977A, shall be the powers, remedies, and proce15 dures this Act provides to the Board or any person 

16 alleging such practice (not an employment practice 

17 specifically excluded from coverage under section 

18 1977A(a)(1) of the Revised Statutes). 

19 (4) OTHER APPLICABLE PROVISIONS.—With re20 spect to a claim alleging a practice described in 

21 paragraph (1), title III of the Congressional Ac22 countability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.) 

23 shall apply in the same manner as such title applies 

24 with respect to a claim alleging a violation of section 

25 201(a)(1) of such Act (2 U.S.C. 1311(a)(1)). 


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1 (c) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY CHAPTER 5 OF TITLE

2 3, UNITED STATES CODE.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The powers, remedies, and 

4 procedures provided in chapter 5 of title 3, United 

5 States Code, to the President, the Commission, the 

6 Merit Systems Protection Board, or any person al7 leging a violation of section 411(a)(1) of such title 

8 shall be the powers, remedies, and procedures this 

9 Act provides to the President, the Commission, the 

10 Board, or any person, respectively, alleging an un11 lawful employment practice in violation of this Act 

12 against an employee described in section 5(3)(C), ex13 cept as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this 

14 subsection. 

15 (2) COSTS AND FEES.—The powers, remedies, 

16 and procedures provided in subsections (b) and (c) 

17 of section 722 of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 

18 1988) shall be the powers, remedies, and procedures 

19 this Act provides to the President, the Commission, 

20 the Board, or any person alleging such practice. 

21 (3) DAMAGES.—The powers, remedies, and pro22 cedures provided in section 1977A of the Revised 

23 Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981a), including the limita24 tions contained in subsection (b)(3) of such section 

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1 dures this Act provides to the President, the Com2 mission, the Board, or any person alleging such 

3 practice (not an employment practice specifically ex4 cluded from coverage under section 1977A(a)(1) of 

5 the Revised Statutes). 

6 (d) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY GOVERNMENT EM7 PLOYEE RIGHTS ACT OF 1991.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The powers, remedies, and 

9 procedures provided in sections 302 and 304 of the 

10 Government Employee Rights Act of 1991 (42 

11 U.S.C. 2000e–16b; 2000e–16c) to the Commission 

12 or any person alleging a violation of section 

13 302(a)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16b(a)(1)) 

14 shall be the powers, remedies, and procedures this 

15 Act provides to the Commission or any person, re16 spectively, alleging an unlawful employment practice 

17 in violation of this Act against an employee de18 scribed in section 5(3)(D), except as provided in 

19 paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection. 

20 (2) COSTS AND FEES.—The powers, remedies, 

21 and procedures provided in subsections (b) and (c) 

22 of section 722 of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 

23 1988) shall be the powers, remedies, and procedures 

24 this Act provides to the Commission or any person 

25 alleging such practice. 


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1 (3) DAMAGES.—The powers, remedies, and pro2 cedures provided in section 1977A of the Revised 

3 Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981a), including the limita4 tions contained in subsection (b)(3) of such section 

5 1977A, shall be the powers, remedies, and proce6 dures this Act provides to the Commission or any 

7 person alleging such practice (not an employment 

8 practice specifically excluded from coverage under 

9 section 1977A(a)(1) of the Revised Statutes). 

10 (e) EMPLOYEES COVERED BY SECTION 717 OF THE

11 CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The powers, remedies, and 

13 procedures provided in section 717 of the Civil 

14 Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16) to the 

15 Commission, the Attorney General, the Librarian of 

16 Congress, or any person alleging a violation of that 

17 section shall be the powers, remedies, and proce18 dures this Act provides to the Commission, the At19 torney General, the Librarian of Congress, or any 

20 person, respectively, alleging an unlawful employ21 ment practice in violation of this Act against an em22 ployee described in section 5(3)(E), except as pro23 vided in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this subsection. 

24 (2) COSTS AND FEES.—The powers, remedies, 

25 and procedures provided in subsections (b) and (c) 


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1 of section 722 of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 

2 1988) shall be the powers, remedies, and procedures 

3 this Act provides to the Commission, the Attorney 

4 General, the Librarian of Congress, or any person 

5 alleging such practice. 

6 (3) DAMAGES.—The powers, remedies, and pro7 cedures provided in section 1977A of the Revised 

8 Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981a), including the limita9 tions contained in subsection (b)(3) of such section 

10 1977A, shall be the powers, remedies, and proce11 dures this Act provides to the Commission, the At12 torney General, the Librarian of Congress, or any 

13 person alleging such practice (not an employment 

14 practice specifically excluded from coverage under 

15 section 1977A(a)(1) of the Revised Statutes). 

16 (f) PROHIBITION AGAINST RETALIATION.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—No person shall discriminate 

18 against any employee because such employee has op19 posed any act or practice made unlawful by this Act 

20 or because such employee made a charge, testified, 

21 assisted, or participated in any manner in an inves22 tigation, proceeding, or hearing under this Act. 

23 (2) PROHIBITION AGAINST COERCION.—It shall 

24 be unlawful to coerce, intimidate, threaten, or inter25 fere with any individual in the exercise or enjoyment 


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1 of, or on account of such individual having exercised 

2 or enjoyed, or on account of such individual having 

3 aided or encouraged any other individual in the exer4 cise or enjoyment of, any right granted or protected 

5 by this Act. 

6 (3) REMEDY.—The remedies and procedures 

7 otherwise provided for under this section shall be 

8 available to aggrieved individuals with respect to vio9 lations of this subsection. 

10 (g) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding subsections 

11 (a)(3), (b)(3), (c)(3), (d)(3), and (e)(3), if an unlawful em12 ployment practice involves the provision of a reasonable 

13 accommodation pursuant to this Act or regulations imple14 menting this Act, damages may not be awarded under sec15 tion 1977A of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1981a) if 

16 the covered entity demonstrates good faith efforts, in con17 sultation with the employee with known limitations related 

18 to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions who 

19 has informed the covered entity that accommodation is 

20 needed, to identify and make a reasonable accommodation 

21 that would provide such employee with an equally effective 

22 opportunity and would not cause an undue hardship on 

23 the operation of the covered entity. 


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1 SEC. 4. RULEMAKING. 

2 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, the Commission shall issue regulations in an 

4 accessible format in accordance with subchapter II of 

5 chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, to carry out this 

6 Act. Such regulations shall provide examples of reasonable 

7 accommodations addressing known limitations related to 

8 pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions. 

9 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

10 As used in this Act— 

11 (1) the term ‘‘Commission’’ means the Equal 

12 Employment Opportunity Commission; 

13 (2) the term ‘‘covered entity’’— 

14 (A) has the meaning given the term ‘‘re15 spondent’’ in section 701(n) of the Civil Rights 

16 Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e(n)); and 

17 (B) includes— 

18 (i) an employer, which means a per19 son engaged in industry affecting com20 merce who has 15 or more employees as 

21 defined in section 701(b) of title VII of the 

22 Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 

23 2000e(b)); 

24 (ii) an employing office, as defined in 

25 section 101 of the Congressional Account26 ability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301) and 


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1 section 411(c) of title 3, United States 

2 Code; 

3 (iii) an entity employing a State em4 ployee described in section 304(a) of the 

5 Government Employee Rights Act of 1991 

6 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16c(a)); and 

7 (iv) an entity to which section 717(a) 

8 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 

9 2000e–16(a)) applies; 

10 (3) the term ‘‘employee’’ means— 

11 (A) an employee (including an applicant), 

12 as defined in section 701(f) of the Civil Rights 

13 Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e(f)); 

14 (B) a covered employee (including an ap15 plicant), as defined in section 101 of the Con16 gressional Accountability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 

17 1301); 

18 (C) a covered employee (including an appli19 cant), as defined in section 411(c) of title 3, 

20 United States Code; 

21 (D) a State employee (including an appli22 cant) described in section 304(a) of the Govern23 ment Employee Rights Act of 1991 (42 U.S.C. 

24 2000e–16c(a)); or 


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1 (E) an employee (including an applicant) 

2 to which section 717(a) of the Civil Rights Act 

3 of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e–16(a)) applies; 

4 (4) the term ‘‘person’’ has the meaning given 

5 such term in section 701(a) of the Civil Rights Act 

6 of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e(a)); 

7 (5) the term ‘‘known limitation’’ means physical 

8 or mental condition related to, affected by, or arising 

9 out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical con10 ditions that the employee or employee’s representa11 tive has communicated to the employer whether or 

12 not such condition meets the definition of disability 

13 specified in section 3 of the Americans with Disabil14 ities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102); 

15 (6) the term ‘‘qualified employee’’ means an 

16 employee or applicant who, with or without reason17 able accommodation, can perform the essential func18 tions of the employment position, except that an em19 ployee or applicant shall be considered qualified if— 

20 (A) any inability to perform an essential 

21 function is for a temporary period; 

22 (B) the essential function could be per23 formed in the near future; and 

24 (C) the inability to perform the essential 

25 function can be reasonably accommodated; and 


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1 (7) the terms ‘‘reasonable accommodation’’ and 

2 ‘‘undue hardship’’ have the meanings given such 

3 terms in section 101 of the Americans with Disabil4 ities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12111) and shall be 

5 construed as such terms are construed under such 

6 Act and as set forth in the regulations required by 

7 this Act, including with regard to the interactive 

8 process that will typically be used to determine an 

9 appropriate reasonable accommodation. 

10 SEC. 6. WAIVER OF STATE IMMUNITY. 

11 A State shall not be immune under the 11th Amend12 ment to the Constitution from an action in a Federal or 

13 State court of competent jurisdiction for a violation of this 

14 Act. In any action against a State for a violation of this 

15 Act, remedies (including remedies both at law and in eq16 uity) are available for such a violation to the same extent 

17 as such remedies are available for such a violation in an 

18 action against any public or private entity other than a 

19 State. 

20 SEC. 7. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS. 

21 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to invalidate 

22 or limit the powers, remedies, and procedures under any 

23 Federal law or law of any State or political subdivision 

24 of any State or jurisdiction that provides greater or equal 


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1 protection for individuals affected by pregnancy, child2 birth, or related medical conditions. 

3 SEC. 8. SEVERABILITY. 

4 If any provision of this Act or the application of that 

5 provision to particular persons or circumstances is held 

6 invalid or found to be unconstitutional, the remainder of 

7 this Act and the application of that provision to other per8 sons or circumstances shall not be affected. 

Æ 


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