St. Joe-Benton Harbor News

The U.S. House passed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which was cosponsored by U.S. Rep. Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph), according to the congressman's website.

Upton voted for the bill and cosponsored it, and it passed 329-73. The bill protects pregnant employees from workplace discrimination. It will now go to the U.S. Senate for consideration.

"All workers should have the protections needed to stay safe in their workplace, but unfortunately for too many pregnant women, those protections just aren’t there,” Upton said, according to his website. “Working and staying safe are not mutually exclusive. Accommodations that are necessary but sometimes denied -- like providing a stool to sit on or lighter lifting duties -- limit the ability for a pregnant woman to maintain a healthy pregnancy and still work."

U.S. Rep. Fred Upton | U.S. House of Representatives

Upton said that it was a commonsense bill, which made it clear that employers needed to keep pregnant employees' work spaces safe. He said he hoped it would quickly pass in the Senate.

The bill is closely modeled after the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for pregnant employees.

Upton's website notes that 75% of women who are employed will become pregnant during their lifetime, and 62% of pregnant women and new mothers are part of the workforce. Under the current law, pregnant employees can be forced out or put on unpaid leave if they request accommodations to continue working.

The bill requires both private-sector and public-sector employers to make reasonable accommodations. It also creates provisions so that pregnant workers cannot be forced to accept accommodations they did not agree to or be forced to take leave. The bill states, however, that employers don't have to provide the accommodations if the accommodations would cause undue hardship.