pToday, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released its a href=https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection/2024-07527/implementation-of-the-pregnant-workers-fairness-actfinal regulations/a implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. The landmark statute mandating “reasonable accommodation” of workers’ pregnancy-related needs went into effect last summer, but the regulations explain the PWFA’s protections in more detail, providing additional guidance to workers, employers, and the courts so that the full force of the law is given effect./p pThat’s great news for workers like:/p ul lia href=https://www.aclu.org/cases/kimberlie-michelle-durham-v-ruralmetro-corporationMichelle Durham/a, an Alabama Emergency Medical Technician forced onto unpaid leave during pregnancy because her employer refused to honor her doctor’s directive that she not lift heavy stretchers and patients;/li lia href=https://www.aclu.org/news/womens-rights/att-mobility-fired-me-being-pregnant#:~:text=AT%26T%20Mobility's%20so%2Dcalled%20%E2%80%9Cno,Disabilities%20Act%2C%20and%20the%20FMLA.Katia Hills/a, a retail worker from Indiana fired for absenteeism due to severe “morning sickness” and doctor’s visits; and/li lia href=https://www.aclu.org/cases/panattoni-v-village-frankfortJennifer Panattoni/a, a police officer from Illinois forced to take leave without pay when she was denied temporary reassignment to a desk job./li /ul pMichelle, Katia, and Jennifer aren’t alone; millions of people, especially Black and Brown women at greatest risk of maternal morbidity and mortality, labor in strenuous jobs that could be dangerous during pregnancy – like health care, retail, and law enforcement – yet are routinely denied the temporary modifications they need to stay healthy. One study estimated that 250,000 people annually don’t get the accommodations they need, putting them at risk for miscarriage and other poor health outcomes on the one hand, and job loss on the other./p div class=wp-heading mb-8 h2 id= class=wp-heading-h2 with-standardSo what did Congress intend the PWFA to accomplish?/h2 /div pAs the first federal statute enacted in 45 years to protect on-the-job rights of pregnant workers, Congress passed the PWFA to fill a significant gap in existing law when it comes to accommodations – those temporary on-the-job modifications that a person may need to maintain their health or the health of their pregnancy. These changes can be minor – such as a slightly later start time to account for “morning sickness” or more frequent breaks for workers who spend long shifts on their feet – or more significant, such as suspension of risky duties, like repeated heavy lifting or exposure to toxins./p pAlthough workers with disabilities have been entitled to such changes for more than 30 years under the Americans with Disabilities Act, pregnant workers have lacked similarly explicit protections. The PWFA eliminates the Hobson’s Choice faced by pregnant workers – i.e., continue working under unsafe conditions or leave the job altogether – by requiring employers to accommodate workers with limitations caused by “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions” unless doing so would impose an “undue hardship” on the employer’s business. Given the statute’s obvious benefits to workers and their families alike, it’s no wonder that the PWFA was enacted with exceptionally broad bipartisan cooperation that is virtually unheard of in today’s Congress, and with supporters as diverse as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and the American Civil Liberties Union, my employer./p pWhen the EEOC issued a draft version of its PWFA regulations last August, a small but noisy group raised the alarm that the agency had gone rogue. Why? The EEOC specifically stated that “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions” includes abortion, so that time off for abortion care – like time off for other doctor’s visits and medical procedures – is a “reasonable accommodation” required by the new statute. Critics contended that such a requirement improperly forces employers to somehow participate in their employees’ abortion decisions, which they claimed is unfair to employers that object to abortion on religious grounds./p div class=mp-md wp-link div class=wp-link__img-wrapper a href=https://www.aclu.org/news/womens-rights/the-historic-new-law-protecting-fairness-for-pregnant-workers target=_blank tabindex=-1 img width=1200 height=628 src=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/5ddb12929c46917407ae0ce9e9c04f02.jpg class=attachment-4x3_full size-4x3_full alt= decoding=async loading=lazy srcset=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/5ddb12929c46917407ae0ce9e9c04f02.jpg 1200w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/5ddb12929c46917407ae0ce9e9c04f02-768x402.jpg 768w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/5ddb12929c46917407ae0ce9e9c04f02-400x209.jpg 400w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/5ddb12929c46917407ae0ce9e9c04f02-600x314.jpg 600w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/5ddb12929c46917407ae0ce9e9c04f02-800x419.jpg 800w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/5ddb12929c46917407ae0ce9e9c04f02-1000x523.jpg 1000w sizes=(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px / /a /div div class=wp-link__title a href=https://www.aclu.org/news/womens-rights/the-historic-new-law-protecting-fairness-for-pregnant-workers target=_blank The Historic New Law Protecting Fairness for Pregnant Workers /a /div div class=wp-link__description a href=https://www.aclu.org/news/womens-rights/the-historic-new-law-protecting-fairness-for-pregnant-workers target=_blank tabindex=-1 p class=is-size-7-mobile is-size-6-tabletAfter a decade of advocacy, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is going into effect. /p /a /div div class=wp-link__source p-4 px-6-tablet a href=https://www.aclu.org/news/womens-rights/the-historic-new-law-protecting-fairness-for-pregnant-workers target=_blank tabindex=-1 p class=is-size-7Source: American Civil Liberties Union/p /a /div /div pSuch objections are likely to reemerge now that the EEOC’s final regulations are out, because abortion remains among the list of reasons entitling workers to reasonable accommodation. But while the EEOC’s noisy critics paint the agency as radical, it is they who push a fringe view – one that disregards nearly half a century of legal history. In 1978, Congress passed the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, a law protecting workers from discrimination based on “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.” At the time, Congress made clear that it considered abortion to fall within that definition – meaning that firing or refusing to hire someone because they have had an abortion is unlawful discrimination. In 1979, the EEOC issued guidelines consistent with that interpretation and reaffirmed those directives in 2015, while in the four and a half decades since the PDA’s passage, numerous courts have reached the same conclusion: discrimination based on abortion is discrimination based on “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.” The phrase also has been interpreted by judges to cover a wide range of pre- and post-partum reproductive needs, including the use of contraceptives, infertility treatment, and lactation. At the same time, the PDA makes clear that employers are not required to cover abortion in their health plans, and subsequent court cases have not disturbed that provision. When Congress copied and pasted “pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions” from the PDA into the PWFA, all of that interpretive precedent came with it. The EEOC’s new regulations simply implement the law Congress actually passed./p pWhen it comes to the rights of religious employers, abortion opponents also get an “F” in history. While such entities long have enjoyed certain narrow exemptions from our discrimination laws – and the PWFA does nothing to disturb such precedent – courts repeatedly have refused to grant religious employers wholesale immunity from these statutes. Indeed, Congress irejected /ian amendment that would have exempted religious employers from the PWFA’s reach altogether. The EEOC regulations rightly also refuse to rubber-stamp discrimination in the name of religion, instead providing careful, case-by-case consideration to instances where a religious employer objects to an employee’s need for accommodation under the PWFA, if any happen to arise./p pSadly, since 2022’s ruling in a href=https://www.aclu.org/news/reproductive-freedom/a-year-without-roeiDobbs/i iv. Jackson Women’s Health Organization/i/a overturning iRoe v. Wade/i, the time off of work that is necessary to get an abortion has increased exponentially. At last count, more than 20 states have either banned or severely restricted abortion. As a result, a sizable share of the U.S. population – millions of people – are now faced with the prospect of traveling hundreds of miles to even access this critically important healthcare. To name just one example, in Texas, where a near-total ban is in place, the average one-way trip for abortion has ballooned a href=https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2798215by more than eight hours/a – an increase of a full./p pThe PWFA is historic, but not because it applies to abortion. Employers already are prohibited from taking adverse action against workers who have abortions. The PWFA simply bars them from punishing people for taking time away from the job to obtain abortion care – or any other reproductive health care. No one should have to risk their paycheck to get the medical care they need – and thanks to the PWFA, they don’t./p pemThis a class=Hyperlink SCXW187589113 BCX0 href=https://msmagazine.com/2024/04/15/pregnant-workers-fairness-act-women-abortion/ target=_blank rel=noreferrer noopenerpiece /awas first published in a class=Hyperlink SCXW187589113 BCX0 href=https://msmagazine.com/ target=_blank rel=noreferrer noopenerMs. Magazine/a on 4/15/24/em/p

pAs a child in New Jersey, I grew up hearing stories of my mother’s flight attendant days in South Korea. A few stuck out to me even at a young age – such as hearing she needed to maintain a certain weight to get into the flight attendant program and that she had to quit her job once she got married. I couldn’t understand why my mother had to quit her dream job, the job that allowed her to travel to Hawaii and Paris, the two places she had always wanted to go since she was little, just because she got married. My mother also told me how women either lied about being married to keep their jobs or were pressured to quit by their superiors if they were public about their marital status or were pregnant. Although airlines across the world have since rolled back official policies restricting marital status and pregnancy for flight attendants in response to federal civil rights laws, many still perpetuate gender discrimination through dress code restrictions and limitations on lactating./p pUnfortunately, what my mother faced as a female flight attendant was common across the globe. The role of women in the airline industry has long been limited to societal constructs of what it means to be “feminine.” Women flight attendants have been hypersexualized through revealing uniforms and advertisements, such as an a href=https://www.jezebel.com/how-flight-attendants-organized-against-their-bosses-to-1830282960infamous ad campaign/a run by a now discontinued airline in which a flight attendant states, “I’m Cheryl; Fly me.” To maintain this public perception of flight attendants as sexually and romantically available, airlines imposed informal and formal restrictions on the height, weight, and age of flight attendants as public imaging and marketing tools. In the 1950s, airlines began to institute mandatory retirement ages for flight attendants, 35 and older, to further reinforce their image of a desirable woman. Flight attendants were fired for getting married or becoming pregnant until the 1970’s./p pNowadays, we see this sexualization in current “female” flight attendant uniform policies – skirt, high heels, tight clothing, low-cut blouses – which are indicative of the longstanding stereotypes of what it means to be a “woman” in the airline industry. Restrictive uniform and grooming policies that reinforce stereotypical categories of “male” or “female” harm people of all genders, particularly women and nonbinary people. This was the case in a href=https://www.aclu.org/cases/wetherell-v-alaska-airlinesiWetherell v. Alaska Airlines/i/a, in which a a href=https://www.aclu.org/news/lgbtq-rights/gendered-dress-codes-hurt-everyone-especially-non-binary-people-like-menonbinary flight attendant/a was required to adhere to an inflexible uniform policy that forced them to conform to rigid gender stereotypes. In May 2023, the ACLU, the ACLU of Washington, and the Washington State Attorney General’s Office secured a a href=https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/groundbreaking-consent-decree-requires-alaska-airlines-to-change-discriminatory-gendered-uniform-policyconsent decree/a against Alaska Airlines, requiring the removal of all gendered restrictions from its uniform policy for flight attendants and additional training on gender identity and gender expression./p div class=mp-md wp-link div class=wp-link__img-wrapper a href=https://www.aclu.org/cases/wetherell-v-alaska-airlines target=_blank tabindex=-1 img width=700 height=350 src=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/8edf82b64b3db092af443732c95ebc3d.jpg class=attachment-original size-original alt= decoding=async loading=lazy srcset=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/8edf82b64b3db092af443732c95ebc3d.jpg 700w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/8edf82b64b3db092af443732c95ebc3d-400x200.jpg 400w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/8edf82b64b3db092af443732c95ebc3d-600x300.jpg 600w sizes=(max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px / /a /div div class=wp-link__title a href=https://www.aclu.org/cases/wetherell-v-alaska-airlines target=_blank Wetherell v. Alaska Airlines /a /div div class=wp-link__description a href=https://www.aclu.org/cases/wetherell-v-alaska-airlines target=_blank tabindex=-1 p class=is-size-7-mobile is-size-6-tabletThe ACLU and partners represented Justin Wetherell, a flight-attendant and flight-attendant instructor based in Seattle./p /a /div div class=wp-link__source p-4 px-6-tablet a href=https://www.aclu.org/cases/wetherell-v-alaska-airlines target=_blank tabindex=-1 p class=is-size-7Source: American Civil Liberties Union/p /a /div /div pDress code restrictions aren’t the only gender discrimination issue that airlines need to work on. New parents in the airline industry need to be able to pump breast milk aboard aircraft during noncritical flight phases. Lactation accommodations are now the norm in many places thanks to landmark legislation including the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act of 2022. The PUMP Act guarantees the right to pump at work and provides federal labor protection for new parents in most industries who want to pump milk during their workday without fear of being fired by their employer. But the PUMP Act excluded flight crews, and as a result, airlines have dragged their feet at implementing basic accommodations, forcing their employees to delay pumping due to their flight schedules, resulting in pain, discomfort, and infections, or to stop breastfeeding earlier than they intended./p pWe have fought to ensure pregnant flight attendants have the right to pump at work. In partnership with the ACLU of Colorado and other organizations, we secured two settlements agreements on behalf of Frontier a href=https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/settlement-reached-frontier-airlines-pregnancy-and-lactation-discrimination-lawsuitflight attendants/a and a href=https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/pilots-reach-settlement-with-frontier-airlines-over-lactation-and-pregnancy-policiespilots/a who had previously been denied pregnancy and breastfeeding accommodations by Frontier. As a result of the settlement, Frontier made important policy changes addressing pregnancy and lactation accommodations on the ground and during flights, including a policy change allowing flight crew to pump breast milk while in the air./p pNow that Frontier is leading the way, other airlines should follow suit. That’s why we a href=https://www.aclu.org/documents/letter-to-airlines-breastfeeding-accommodations-for-flight-crewsent a letter/a to 28 airlines urging them to adopt policies expressly permitting flight crews to pump breast milk aboard an aircraft./p div class=mp-md wp-link div class=wp-link__img-wrapper a href=https://www.aclu.org/documents/letter-to-airlines-breastfeeding-accommodations-for-flight-crew target=_blank tabindex=-1 /a /div div class=wp-link__title a href=https://www.aclu.org/documents/letter-to-airlines-breastfeeding-accommodations-for-flight-crew target=_blank Letter to Airlines: Breastfeeding Accommodations for Flight Crew /a /div div class=wp-link__source p-4 px-6-tablet a href=https://www.aclu.org/documents/letter-to-airlines-breastfeeding-accommodations-for-flight-crew target=_blank tabindex=-1 p class=is-size-7Source: American Civil Liberties Union/p /a /div /div pFor those airlines that don’t follow in Frontier’s footsteps, we need the AIR PUMP Act to expand PUMP’s critical protection to flight crews, making clear that all airlines must provide employees who are lactating with the basic accommodations they need, such as pumping during non-critical phases of the flight. But in the meanwhile, we’re very glad to know that there’s currently a bipartisan effort, in both the House and Senate, to require the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Authority to give written guidance to air carriers so that flight crew members will be able to pump without being penalized./p pNo working mother should be forced to choose between their job or nursing their child. We applaud Congress for passing the a href=https://www.aclu.org/documents/pump-nursing-mothers-act-explainerPUMP for Nursing Mothers Act,/a and now it’s time to finish the job and stand by working parents in the airline industry./p

pIn 1987, 15 years after the Women’s Rights Project was established at the ACLU, March was officially designated as Women’s History Month in the United States. This time is for the celebration of the women whose contributions and achievements have shaped our society. Such a celebration may feel painful at this moment, when we are facing the fall of iRoe v. Wade, /ithe Black maternal mortality crisis, as well as ongoing, systemic barriers including the gender wage gap, family policing, lack of affordable housing, and sexual harassment. Yet it is precisely at times like these we need reminders why we still fight – and that we still win. In the perpetual fight for justice and equity, women have not only been essential, but have also consistently led the way. Each March, we must celebrate the progress made, and acknowledge all the work that has been and has yet to be done./p pFor over 50 years, the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project (WRP) has been at the forefront of the fight for gender justice. And just as Women’s History Month continues to evolve each year, our work has expanded and developed, with a focus on taking an intersectional approach. Here are four ways we continue to fight for equality:/p div class=wp-heading mb-8 h2 id= class=wp-heading-h2 with-standard1. Challenging Discriminatory Dress Codes /h2 /div figure class=wp-image mb-8 img width=1110 height=740 src=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/our-voice-is-our-power.jpg class=attachment-original size-original alt=Three individuals holding ACLU branded posters. decoding=async loading=lazy srcset=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/our-voice-is-our-power.jpg 1110w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/our-voice-is-our-power-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/our-voice-is-our-power-400x267.jpg 400w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/our-voice-is-our-power-600x400.jpg 600w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/our-voice-is-our-power-800x533.jpg 800w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/our-voice-is-our-power-1000x667.jpg 1000w sizes=(max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px / /figure pThe ACLU has led the way in fighting discriminatory dress codes that reinforce sexist and racist stereotypes in schools and at work. These discriminatory codes target girls, people of color, and members of the LBGTQIA+ community, particularly girls who live at the intersection of those identities. Many students and workers across the county are subject to senseless, sex-based restrictions such as skirts, dresses, and “modest clothing” for women and girls and short hair, pants, and no accessories for men and boys. We successfully a href=https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/supreme-court-rejects-appeal-from-public-charter-school-seeking-permission-to-violate-students-constitutional-rightschallenged/a a charter school’s “skirts only” rule for girls, which the school adopted based on the belief that every girl is a “fragile vessel.” The school sought to overturn the decision but, in 2023, the Supreme Court left the victory in place. This past year, we also reached a a href=https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/groundbreaking-consent-decree-requires-alaska-airlines-to-change-discriminatory-gendered-uniform-policyhistoric settlement/a with Alaska Airlines to remove all gendered restrictions from its uniform policy for flight attendants./p div class=mp-md wp-link div class=wp-link__img-wrapper a href=https://www.aclu.org/dresscodeform target=_blank tabindex=-1 img width=1200 height=628 src=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/a082360125c2d047aa848acb36042cee.jpg class=attachment-original size-original alt= decoding=async loading=lazy srcset=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/a082360125c2d047aa848acb36042cee.jpg 1200w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/a082360125c2d047aa848acb36042cee-768x402.jpg 768w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/a082360125c2d047aa848acb36042cee-400x209.jpg 400w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/a082360125c2d047aa848acb36042cee-600x314.jpg 600w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/a082360125c2d047aa848acb36042cee-800x419.jpg 800w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/a082360125c2d047aa848acb36042cee-1000x523.jpg 1000w sizes=(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px / /a /div div class=wp-link__title a href=https://www.aclu.org/dresscodeform target=_blank Share Your Story: Dress Code Policies Based on Gender Stereotypes /a /div div class=wp-link__description a href=https://www.aclu.org/dresscodeform target=_blank tabindex=-1 p class=is-size-7-mobile is-size-6-tabletWe’d like to hear from you if your school or workplace maintains discriminatory dress and appearance policies./p /a /div div class=wp-link__source p-4 px-6-tablet a href=https://www.aclu.org/dresscodeform target=_blank tabindex=-1 p class=is-size-7Source: American Civil Liberties Union/p /a /div /div pAcross the country, we’ve sought to end the enforcement of discriminatory dress codes in a range of other contexts as well. We’ve fought to end discriminatory dress codes in schools that prevent boys and non-binary students from wearing their hair long, which prevents a class=Hyperlink SCXW6015916 BCX0 href=https://www.aclu.org/news/racial-justice/my-sons-hair-is-part-of-a-thousand-year-old-tribal-culture-his-school-called-it-a-fad target=_blank rel=noreferrer noopenerNative American and Black students/a, among others, from expressing their cultural and religious traditions. We’ve also worked to end dress codes that a class=Hyperlink SCXW6015916 BCX0 href=https://www.aclu.org/news/womens-rights/why-im-challenging-my-schools-sexist-dress-code-policies target=_blank rel=noreferrer noopenerpenalize student athletes/a on the girls’ cross-country teams for training in weather-appropriate clothing, as well as those that forbid transgender seniors from attending a class=Hyperlink SCXW6015916 BCX0 href=https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-challenges-mississippi-high-schools-refusal-to-let-transgender-student-wear-dress-to-graduation-ceremony target=_blank rel=noreferrer noopenertheir high school graduation/a dressed as themselves./p div class=wp-heading mb-8 h2 id= class=wp-heading-h2 with-standard2. Taking on Housing Policies that Blacklist Black and Brown Women/h2 /div figure class=wp-image mb-8 img width=1110 height=740 src=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/i-stand-with-black-women.jpg class=attachment-original size-original alt=Someone holding a sign saying Stand With Black Women. decoding=async loading=lazy srcset=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/i-stand-with-black-women.jpg 1110w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/i-stand-with-black-women-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/i-stand-with-black-women-400x267.jpg 400w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/i-stand-with-black-women-600x400.jpg 600w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/i-stand-with-black-women-800x533.jpg 800w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/i-stand-with-black-women-1000x667.jpg 1000w sizes=(max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px / /figure pIn our fight for housing justice, we have taken on “No-Eviction” policies and other screening policies that disproportionately discriminate against Black renters, particularly Black women. These screening policies block potential renters from housing simply because they are connected to any previous eviction case, even if the case was very old, they ultimately won it, or the legal action against them was unlawfully filed in the first place. Black women are significantly more likely to have eviction cases filed against them by landlords, so these policies in turn impact and destabilize Black women, further perpetuating systemic inequality and segregation. In 2023, we filed a class=Hyperlink SCXW192197316 BCX0 href=https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/advocates-challenge-discriminatory-eviction-screening-policies-enforced-by-two-cook-county-landlords target=_blank rel=noreferrer noopenertwo/a challenges against the use of these screening policies by Chicago-area landlords. These cases were among the first of their kind in the United States and aim to set a precedent for disrupting discriminatory housing practices./p div class=wp-heading mb-8 h2 id= class=wp-heading-h2 with-standard3. Advocating for Pregnant and Lactating Workers/h2 /div figure class=wp-image mb-8 img width=1110 height=740 src=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/pregnant-workers-fairness-act.jpg class=attachment-original size-original alt=A group of women wearing t shirts saying Pass the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. decoding=async loading=lazy srcset=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/pregnant-workers-fairness-act.jpg 1110w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/pregnant-workers-fairness-act-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/pregnant-workers-fairness-act-400x267.jpg 400w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/pregnant-workers-fairness-act-600x400.jpg 600w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/pregnant-workers-fairness-act-800x533.jpg 800w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/pregnant-workers-fairness-act-1000x667.jpg 1000w sizes=(max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px / /figure pWe have long been at the forefront of fighting for the rights of pregnant and breastfeeding workers who experience discrimination in the workplace. Over the past few years, the ACLU was a key advocate for the enactment of the a class=Hyperlink SCXW136550188 BCX0 href=http://pregnan/ target=_blank rel=noreferrer noopenerPregnan/at Workers Fairness Act and the a class=Hyperlink SCXW136550188 BCX0 href=https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/aclu-applauds-senate-passage-pregnant-workers-fairness-act-and-pump-nursing-mothers target=_blank rel=noreferrer noopenerPUMP for Nursing Mothers Act/a. These new landmark laws ensure that millions of pregnant and lactating workers have access to reasonable accommodations that allow them to continue working, instead of forcing them to choose between their paycheck and a healthy pregnancy and nursing period. We continue to litigate on behalf of employees who are denied pregnancy-related accommodations and those discriminated against for being pregnant./p div class=wp-heading mb-8 h2 id= class=wp-heading-h2 with-standard4. Fighting the Separation of Black and Brown Families/h2 /div figure class=wp-image mb-8 img width=1110 height=740 src=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/womens-rights-are-human-rights.jpg class=attachment-original size-original alt=A sign that says Women#039;s Rights Are Human Rights. decoding=async loading=lazy srcset=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/womens-rights-are-human-rights.jpg 1110w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/womens-rights-are-human-rights-768x512.jpg 768w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/womens-rights-are-human-rights-400x267.jpg 400w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/womens-rights-are-human-rights-600x400.jpg 600w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/womens-rights-are-human-rights-800x533.jpg 800w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/womens-rights-are-human-rights-1000x667.jpg 1000w sizes=(max-width: 1110px) 100vw, 1110px / /figure pAs part of our work on behalf of families of color who are disproportionately impacted by the child welfare system, we have been a strong voice in raising awareness about the widespread use of automated tools by local governments to determine which families to investigate – tools that often heighten the risk of disintegration for Black and Brown families in the United States. In 2023, the ACLU published a a href=https://www.aclu.org/news/womens-rights/how-policy-hidden-in-an-algorithm-is-threatening-families-in-this-pennsylvania-countyreport/a on the discriminatory effects of Allegheny County’s “Family Screening Tool,” which could disproportionately flag family members who were Black or had disabilities for investigation. The ACLU’s report prompted in-depth reporting from the Associated Press and an investigation from the U.S. Department of Justice./p div class=mp-md wp-link div class=wp-link__img-wrapper a href=https://www.aclu.org/the-devil-is-in-the-details-interrogating-values-embedded-in-the-allegheny-family-screening-tool target=_blank tabindex=-1 img width=1000 height=494 src=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/1339bada98bced1fc0221fb7c78bd574.jpg class=attachment-original size-original alt= decoding=async loading=lazy srcset=https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/1339bada98bced1fc0221fb7c78bd574.jpg 1000w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/1339bada98bced1fc0221fb7c78bd574-768x379.jpg 768w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/1339bada98bced1fc0221fb7c78bd574-400x198.jpg 400w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/1339bada98bced1fc0221fb7c78bd574-600x296.jpg 600w, https://www.aclu.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/1339bada98bced1fc0221fb7c78bd574-800x395.jpg 800w sizes=(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px / /a /div div class=wp-link__title a href=https://www.aclu.org/the-devil-is-in-the-details-interrogating-values-embedded-in-the-allegheny-family-screening-tool target=_blank The Devil is in the Details: Interrogating Values Embedded in the Allegheny Family Screening Tool /a /div div class=wp-link__description a href=https://www.aclu.org/the-devil-is-in-the-details-interrogating-values-embedded-in-the-allegheny-family-screening-tool target=_blank tabindex=-1 p class=is-size-7-mobile is-size-6-tabletWe're examining how algorithmic design choices can function as policy decisions through an audit of a deployed algorithmic tool, the Allegheny Family /p /a /div div class=wp-link__source p-4 px-6-tablet a href=https://www.aclu.org/the-devil-is-in-the-details-interrogating-values-embedded-in-the-allegheny-family-screening-tool target=_blank tabindex=-1 p class=is-size-7Source: American Civil Liberties Union/p /a /div /div pWhile there is still much work ahead of us, our recent victories give us hope for progress toward a more equitable world for everyone, regardless of gender. We will continue the fight for gender justice alongside everyone who has been and continues to be a part of the movement with us./p