Access to paid leave is a health and equity imperative

On 15 April 2024, after a public consultation that received over 100 000 comments, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued final regulations detailing employers’ obligation to provide reasonable accommodation to pregnant workers.1 These new regulations expand access to unpaid time off as a reasonable accommodation during pregnancy, for pregnancy termination, or after childbirth. A coalition of attorneys general from 17 states challenged this ruling on 25 April, focusing on provisions for pregnancy termination.2 Whether these new regulations are implemented or over-ruled by the courts will determine whether millions of pregnant and postpartum workers will get access to unpaid leave.

For readers from many countries, this may be surprising. The US is one of the few countries that has no national guarantee of paid maternal leave (the others being Papua New Guinea and five small Pacific island states).3 Moreover, half of all American workers, and more than two thirds of women aged 18-24, are …

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Papua New Guinea , United States , American , Jody Heymann , Amy Raub , Us Equal Employment Opportunity Commission , Employment Opportunity Commission ,