A lawsuit against the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will move forward after an appeals court overturned a previous court’s decision to dismiss the case.
Last year, 17 states sued the EEOC over the inclusion of abortion accommodations in the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and accused the organization of overreach. The PWFA was created to address discrimination against pregnant workers, requiring that employers offer accommodations including time off for medical appointments and recovery from childbirth, breaks for food, water and restroom needs, breastfeeding, and miscarriage. But under the pro-abortion Biden administration, abortion was included as a “medical condition,” which the coalition said overrode the intentions of Congress in passing the bill, with the inclusion of abortion not authorized at the time of the PWFA’s passing. This, the coalition said, “hijacked” the bill.
The coalition is led by Tennessee and Arkansas and includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and West Virginia.
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In June, Eastern District of Arkansas U.S. District Judge D.P. Marshall, Jr. dismissed the lawsuit and denied the coalition’s request to place an injunction against the mandate. “The States’ fear of overreach by one branch of the federal government cannot be cured with overreach by another,” he said in his ruling, adding that “pregnancy-related medical conditions” is broad enough language to be assumed to include abortion.
The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, however, overruled that decision, allowing the lawsuit to move forward. Eighth Circuit Chief Judge Steven M. Colloton wrote that the states have standing to sue, as they are subject to the federal mandate.
“The Biden-era EEOC’s attempt to turn a good law into an ideological weapon to force broad elective abortion accommodations is illegal,” Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said in an emailed statement to Fox 5 San Diego. “The EEOC’s unlawful regulations undermine the constitutional authority of the people’s elected representatives and we are vindicated by the Court’s decision to let our suit proceed.”
With the Trump administration now overseeing the Department of Justice, it is yet to be seen if United States Attorney General Pam Bondi will defend the mandate against the lawsuit.
