Pregnant Workers Fairness Act: Florida Rights and Accommodations

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act gives most Florida employees the right to reasonable workplace accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions, without having to prove their condition meets the higher bar of a disability. The federal law took effect on June 27, 2023, and it applies to Florida employers with 15 or more employees.¹ If your employer refuses to adjust your job, forces you onto leave you did not want, or punishes you for asking, you can file a charge with the EEOC or the Florida Commission on Human Relations.

Who Is Covered in Florida

The PWFA applies to any private or public employer in Florida with 15 or more employees, including state and local government agencies, employment agencies, and labor organizations.²¹ Florida’s Civil Rights Act uses the same 15-employee threshold, so the two laws line up.³ Full-time and part-time workers both count toward the 15. Job applicants are protected too, which means an employer cannot refuse to hire you because you would need a pregnancy-related accommodation.

If your employer has fewer than 15 employees, neither the PWFA nor the Florida Civil Rights Act covers your workplace for these purposes.

What Pregnancy-Related Conditions Qualify

The PWFA protects any “known limitation,” meaning a physical or mental condition related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition that you have communicated to your employer. The condition does not have to meet the definition of a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act.² That is the shift that matters most. Morning sickness qualifies. Pregnancy-related back pain qualifies. Neither would clear the ADA bar.

The EEOC’s regulation covers a broad, non-exhaustive list: current, past, and intended pregnancy, fertility treatments, miscarriage, stillbirth, termination of pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, postpartum depression and anxiety, lactation and related conditions like mastitis, sciatica, carpal tunnel syndrome, anemia, frequent urination, menstruation, and endometriosis, among others.⁴ Accommodations are not limited to workers who are currently pregnant or recently gave birth. The condition also does not have to be severe or long-lasting. Temporary discomfort that makes specific tasks difficult or unsafe is enough, as long as you have told your employer about it.

Accommodations You Can Request

The right accommodation depends on your limitation and your job, but the EEOC has flagged common examples that most Florida employers should be prepared to provide:¹

Additional or longer breaks for eating, drinking water, resting, or using the restroom
Permission to keep a water bottle at your workstation or other adjustments to food and drink policies
A stool if your job normally requires standing, or a way to stand if your job requires sitting
Uniform or dress code adjustments, including properly fitting safety equipment
Shorter hours, part-time work, or a later start time
Telework where the job permits it
Temporary reassignment to a less physically demanding position
Light duty or help with heavy lifting and other manual tasks
Leave for healthcare appointments, recovery from childbirth, or other pregnancy-related medical needs

The common thread is that accommodations should let you keep working, not push you off the job.

How to Ask for an Accommodation

There is no required form. Tell your employer about your limitation and what change would help you do your job. That can be a conversation with your supervisor, an email to HR, or a written note. You do not need to use the phrase “reasonable accommodation” or mention the PWFA by name.

Once you ask, your employer has to engage in what the law calls an “interactive process,” which is a back-and-forth to work out what accommodation fits.¹ The employer can suggest alternatives to your initial request but cannot impose an accommodation you did not agree to.⁵

Document the process from the start. Note the date of your request, who you spoke with, and what was discussed. Keep emails, text messages, and any written responses. That paper trail becomes central if a dispute develops later.

When Medical Documentation Can and Cannot Be Required

Many accommodations do not require a doctor’s note. The EEOC identifies specific situations where asking for medical documentation is unreasonable:

The limitation and the need for a change are obvious, such as a visibly pregnant employee asking for a larger uniform
The employer already has enough information about the limitation
You are currently pregnant and need bathroom breaks, food or water, or the ability to sit instead of stand (or vice versa)
You are lactating and need time or space to pump or nurse
The employer would not normally require documentation in a comparable situation under its own policies

When documentation is appropriate, the employer can seek limited information from your own healthcare provider but cannot force you to see a doctor of its choosing.¹ Repeated demands for doctor’s notes for a straightforward request like extra restroom breaks likely cross the line.

Keeping Your Job When You Temporarily Cannot Perform an Essential Function

The PWFA lets you stay “qualified” for your job even if you temporarily cannot perform one or more essential functions, as long as three conditions are met: the inability is temporary, you will be able to resume the function in the near future, and the inability can be reasonably accommodated.⁶

For a current pregnancy, the EEOC defines “in the near future” as generally 40 weeks from the start of the temporary suspension of that essential function, roughly the length of a full-term pregnancy.⁷ For other related conditions like postpartum recovery, the timeframe is looked at case by case. This does not strip the employer of its say. The employer can still weigh whether the temporary suspension creates undue hardship, considering whether other employees can cover the function and whether the work can be postponed.

What Your Florida Employer Cannot Do

The PWFA lists five prohibited practices. Your employer cannot:⁵

Refuse a reasonable accommodation for a known pregnancy-related limitation, unless it would cause genuine undue hardship
Force you to accept a specific accommodation you did not agree to through the interactive process
Deny you job opportunities because providing an accommodation would be necessary
Require you to take paid or unpaid leave when another reasonable accommodation would let you keep working
Retaliate against you for requesting or using an accommodation

The forced-leave rule is where many disputes arise. Before the PWFA, employers routinely told pregnant workers to go on leave rather than adjust a schedule or reduce a physical requirement. The law now treats forced leave as a last resort. If a workable accommodation exists, the employer has to offer it first.

The Undue Hardship Limit

Employers are not required to provide an accommodation that would cause “undue hardship,” which the PWFA borrows from the ADA and defines as significant difficulty or expense. That is measured against the specific employer’s size, financial resources, and operations, not against accommodation costs in the abstract.⁶ A large Florida hospital will have a harder time claiming undue hardship than a 16-person office for the same accommodation.

When the accommodation involves temporarily suspending an essential function, extra factors matter: how long you will be unable to do it, whether coworkers or temporary hires can cover, whether the task can be postponed, and whether the employer has offered similar relief to other employees. Most common pregnancy accommodations like extra breaks, schedule shifts, and seating changes cost little. Undue hardship is more likely to come up for extended reassignment or a lengthy suspension of core duties in a small workplace.

How the PWFA Fits with Florida Law

Florida Statute 760.10 already prohibits pregnancy discrimination in hiring, firing, pay, and other terms of employment.⁸ But the state law does not explicitly require reasonable accommodations for pregnancy-related limitations. The PWFA fills that gap.⁶ Before it took effect, a Florida worker with severe morning sickness or pregnancy-related back pain had to argue her condition qualified as a “handicap” under state law or a “disability” under the ADA to get an adjustment. Now there is a direct path.

The PWFA does not replace Florida’s existing protections.¹ Whichever law offers more protection in your situation is the one that controls, and a pregnancy claim in Florida can proceed on both a federal and a state track at the same time.

Filing a Complaint If Your Employer Violates the Law

If your employer refuses a reasonable accommodation, retaliates against you for asking, or forces you onto leave instead of accommodating you, you can file a charge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or the Florida Commission on Human Relations. A worksharing agreement between the two agencies means a charge filed with one is automatically cross-filed with the other.⁹ No filing fee is required at the administrative stage.

Deadlines

With the EEOC, you have 300 calendar days from the date of the discriminatory act, because Florida has its own state enforcement agency.⁹ With the FCHR, the deadline is 365 days from the date of the alleged violation.¹⁰ If you miss the 300-day federal window, the longer state deadline may still be open to you.

What You Can Recover

PWFA claims carry the same remedies as Title VII: back pay, reinstatement, and compensatory and punitive damages, plus attorney’s fees and court costs.¹¹ Compensatory and punitive damages are capped by employer size:

$50,000 for employers with 15 to 100 employees
$100,000 for 101 to 200 employees
$200,000 for 201 to 500 employees
$300,000 for employers with more than 500 employees

There is one important limit. If the employer can show it made a good-faith effort to work with you through the interactive process to find a reasonable accommodation, compensatory and punitive damages are not available even if the employer ultimately got the answer wrong.¹¹ That is why your own records matter. If the employer later claims good faith, your documentation of the request, the responses, and the timing is what shows the real story.

1
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. What You Should Know About the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 2000gg – Definitions
3
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 760 – Florida Civil Rights Act of 1992
4
eCFR. 29 CFR 1636.3 – Definitions
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 2000gg-1 – Nondiscrimination With Regard to Reasonable Accommodations Related to Pregnancy
6
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Summary of Key Provisions of EEOC’s Final Rule to Implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
7
eCFR. 29 CFR Part 1636 – Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
8
Florida Senate. Florida Code 760.10 – Unlawful Employment Practices
9
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. How to File a Charge of Employment Discrimination
10
Florida Commission on Human Relations. File a Complaint
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S. Code 2000gg-2 – Remedies and Enforcement