The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission exceeded its authority, the judge concluded.
A federal rule that required employers to give workers time off and other accommodations for abortions is illegal, a judge ruled on May 21.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) went beyond a law crafted by Congress—the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA)—when it issued a rule in 2024 interpreting the law as requiring employers to provide accommodations for workers seeking abortions, U.S. District Judge David Joseph said in a 40-page ruling.
“The record before the Court clearly establishes that the EEOC has exceeded its statutory authority to implement the PWFA and, in doing so, both unlawfully expropriated the authority of Congress and encroached upon the sovereignty of the Plaintiff States under basic principles of federalism,” Joseph said.
He vacated the portion of the rule that included abortion in the accommodation requirements and ordered the EEOC to revise the rule in accordance with his decision.
Joseph, who is based in Louisiana, had in 2024 entered a preliminary injunction against the rule while the case proceeded. The new ruling is final.
The ruling keeps in place the rest of the rule, which requires employers to offer time off and other accommodations to workers who are pregnant or have recently given birth.
The EEOC did not respond to a request for comment.
“This is a win for Louisiana and for life!” Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, a Republican, who challenged the rule in court, said on the social media platform X.
The judge had consolidated the case brought by Murrill and Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, another Republican, and a case filed by Catholic groups, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Congress passed the PWFA in 2022, and it was signed by then-President Joe Biden that year. It took effect in 2023 and covers businesses with at least 15 employees.
The EEOC voted 3–2 to approve the final rule. The inclusion of abortion prompted criticism from some lawmakers who had approved the legislation.
“These regulations completely disregard legislative intent and attempt to rewrite the law by regulation,” Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), the top Republican on the Senate Health Committee, said in a statement at the time.
