“As goes the South, so goes the nation.”
—W.E.B. DuBois
This essay is a part of our latest installment of Women & Democracy all about the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA)—a groundbreaking civil rights law ensuring pregnant and postpartum workers have the right to reasonable workplace accommodations. Bipartisan, pro-family and boldly feminist, the PWFA is both a lesson in democracy and a battleground for its defense against antidemocratic attacks. The multimedia project, “The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Is Essential to Democracy,” was produced in partnership with A Better Balance and explores the decade-long fight for the law’s passage, its impact—particularly on women in low-wage jobs and women of color—and the legal and organizing strategies shaping its future.
The 2022 passage of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) did not happen in a vacuum. It was a culmination of a decade of direct advocacy in Congress paired with great momentum at the state level, especially in the South. Now as we look ahead to defending and enforcing the law, the South’s crucial role cannot be understated.
As outlined in the A Better Balance report, “Winning the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act,” garnering traction for the legislation in the South, and eventually passing state laws in Louisiana, Kentucky and Tennessee, led to crucial congressional support for the bill. In order to demonstrate that workplace accommodations for pregnancy is a nonpartisan issue, a diverse array of partners and impacted individuals stepped up to tell powerful stories.
Among these, Iris Wilbur Glick from Greater Louisville Inc., Kentucky’s largest chamber of commerce, testified in support of the PWFA; she had previously worked to help pass the Kentucky Pregnant Workers Act. Members of Congress paid close attention: They listened to their constituents, to leaders in those communities, and to evidence that versions of the law in their home states were working well for employers, families and the economy.
The significant influence of the South did not stop once the PWFA passed. Despite the bipartisan nature of the PWFA, as part of a broader attack on workers’ and women’s rights, some leaders in Southern states are trying to pick and choose which federal legal protections apply. As part of that trend, the South is ground zero for legal attacks on PWFA regulations.
Progress in the South, whether legislative or in the courts, is a long road—one that takes an army of on-the-ground advocates, elbow grease and patience.
A coalition of mostly Southern conservative state attorneys general filed the first lawsuit attacking the regulations in Tennessee v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The court has temporarily ruled that Louisiana and Mississippi workers do not have access to the parts of the regulation that cover abortion-related accommodations.
These attacks are not limited to the South; there is a similarly troubling court ruling in North Dakota allowing thousands of Catholic employers to not comply with IVF and abortion-related aspects of the regulations.
All of which is to say, progress in the South, whether legislative or in the courts, is a long road—one that takes an army of on-the-ground advocates, elbow grease and patience. But we know that the need for the PWFA and its robust enforcement is vital for women and their families in the South because, despite progress, many Southern states still do not have state-level protections and must rely only on federal protections. And too many corporations that put profits above people have made their home in the South in order to escape government regulations in a race to the bottom—a troublesome environment for workers seeking to vindicate their rights.
A Better Balance is committed to ensuring that workers in the South know their rights under the PWFA and are empowered to enforce those rights when necessary. We have helped women like Louseda, featured in “Pregnant and Finally Protected,” who works as a registered nurse in Florida. She called A Better Balance’s helpline after her employer denied a light duty accommodation for her pregnancy and advocated for and was granted a temporary transfer.
The EEOC has recognized the importance of enforcement in the South as well. In 2024, the agency initiated lawsuits in Alabama and Oklahoma, settled a lawsuit against Lago Mar (no relation) in Florida, and publicly conciliated a charge against a pest control company in Florida. It remains to be seen precisely where and how the Trump administration’s EEOC will prioritize enforcing the law, but to truly protect maternal health and economic security, they must ensure that employers in the South cannot get away with flouting the law, and enforce it to the fullest extent possible.
The fight goes on for the protections of the PWFA for workers in the South, and across the country. These efforts are not only essential to pregnant workers and their families, but part of the broader strategy to invest in civic participation and enable democracy to flourish.
