Abortion Nod in EEOC Pregnancy Rule Draws Conflicting Decisions

Conflicting court decisions are sowing confusion over the legality of EEOC regulations requiring employers to provide workers with abortion-related accommodations under a federal pregnancy bias law, particularly in cases involving potential religious exemptions.

A Louisiana federal court on June 17 shielded employers in that state and Mississippi, along with a group of Catholic organizations, from a mandate in the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act final regulations to provide reasonable accommodations such as time off to workers seeking elective abortions.

Days earlier, a federal court in Arkansas found a coalition of Republican state attorneys general lacked legal standing to challenge the ...