Judge vacates federal rules requiring employers to provide accommodations for abortions
Source: AP
Updated 3:57 PM EDT, May 21, 2025
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday struck down regulations requiring most U.S. employers to provide workers with time off and other accommodations for abortions. The ruling by U.S. District Judge David Joseph of the Western District of Louisiana was a victory for conservative lawmakers and religious groups who decried the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s decision to include abortion among pregnancy-related conditions in regulations on how to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which passed in December 2022.
The EEOC’s decision swiftly prompted several lawsuits and eroded what had been strong bipartisan support for the law designed to strengthen the rights of pregnant workers.
Joseph, who was appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term, ruled that the EEOC exceeded its authority by including abortion in its regulations. His ruling came in two consolidated lawsuits brought by the attorneys general of Louisiana and Mississippi, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Catholic University and two Catholic dioceses.
Joseph sided with the plaintiffs’ argument that if Congress had intended for abortion to be covered by the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, “it would have spoken clearly when enacting the statute, particularly given the enormous social, religious, and political importance of the abortion issue in our nation at this time.”
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/abortion-workers-pregnancy-civil-rights-eb4bcc821c4932728fcd961757b50552
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