Oklahoma’s attorney general is among 19 that have sued the Biden administration over the interpretation of a pregnancy law.Natasha Jackson was four months pregnant when she told her supervisor she was expecting. It was 2008, and Jackson was an account executive at a rental furniture store in Charleston, South Carolina — the only female employee there.“I actually hid my pregnancy as long as I could because I was scared about what could happen,” she said.When her doctor recommended that she not lift more than 25 pounds, her employer wouldn’t let her move temporarily to a role where she didn’t need to lift furniture, even though those roles were available, she said. She was forced to go on leave and then lost her job. Her marriage unraveled and she spent time after the birth in emergency housing.“That hardship affected me years on, and it took away the joy of being pregnant,” said Jackson. “They made me feel guilty and ashamed for having a baby.” Jackson, now 41 and a mother of four who owns her own cleaning company, has spent years working with advocacy groups to fight for better laws to protect pregnant workers. Last year, she was invited to speak at a White House event celebrating the passage of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, a new workplace anti-discrimination law for which she had advocated.But now this law, passed with wide bipartisan support, has become fodder in the bitter battle over abortion rights between Republican-led states and the federal government.The act fills gaps in state and federal protections by requiring employers with 15 or more employees to provide “reasonable accommodations” for pregnant workers and those who have recently given birth or have related medical conditions — unless the employer can prove it would cause “undue hardship” on the business.Accommodations can include allowing an employee to take additional bathroom breaks, carry a water bottle, or sit instead of stand while on the job. After years of lobbying by nonprofit organizations and business groups, the federal law passed in December 2022. It went into effect last June.In its rulemaking process, the Biden administration included abortion as a “related medical condition” covered by the law. That means employees seeking abortion care can ask for accommodations from their employers, such as time off work for an appointment or recovery.This year, 19 Republican attorneys general — including from Jackson’s home state of South Carolina — have ...
