Dear John,

Walmart fired Corrissa Hernandez right after she requested accommodations for her high-risk pregnancy.

Following her doctor’s advice, Corrissa asked for a stool to use while ringing up customers and to switch to a part-time schedule. Despite her reasonable requests, Walmart blatantly violated the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act by refusing to provide these accommodations and firing her instead. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act requires employers to provide simple, temporary accommodations, to ensure workers like Corrissa don't have to choose between their paycheck and their health or the health of their pregnancy.

Stories like Corrissa's underscore the critical importance of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. This is a common-sense law that provides workers like Corrissa with recourse when they are denied pregnancy-related accommodations. Yet, despite the clear need, extremists are attacking the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act in the courts.

Since this groundbreaking law took effect, multiple states and private employers have filed lawsuits seeking to undermine workers’ protections under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, including by blocking protections for workers who need accommodations for abortion and infertility treatments. Other cases are trying to have the entire law declared unconstitutional. These attacks on the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act are part of a larger agenda to undo legal protections against sex discrimination and to eliminate access to abortion and other pregnancy-related care.

These efforts to overturn or limit the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act jeopardize pregnant workers’ health and economic security, preventing pregnant workers from getting the accommodations they need to continue working safely. By targeting this law, right-wing extremists are willing to jeopardize essential worker protections for all pregnant workers to advance their agenda against bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom.

The National Women’s Law Center is committed to defending the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Make a donation to help us continue our work advocating for policies that protect and empower women and marginalized communities.

Together, we can safeguard the rights of pregnant workers and ensure they receive the care and accommodations they deserve.

In solidarity,

Katie Sandson
she/her/hers
Senior Counsel, Education & Workplace Justice
National Women's Law Center