The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act changed the default. A pregnant employee with a lifting limit, nausea, or a need for extra breaks is entitled to reasonable accommodation — without proving a disability, and in many cases without medical paperwork. The employers getting caught aren't villains; they're managers who responded slowly, demanded a doctor's note for a water bottle, or 'generously' forced leave when a stool would have done.
This packet operationalizes the law: an intake record that starts the clock, the EEOC's presumptively reasonable accommodations checklist, the essential-function temporary-suspension analysis unique to the PWFA, an interactive dialogue log, a forbidden-responses check, and an undue hardship section that must be completed before any denial goes out.
Who should use this decision packet
- HR teams fielding their first PWFA request
- Supervisors who just learned of a pregnancy-related limitation
- Employers updating accommodation processes built for the ADA alone
- Small employers (15+ employees) newly covered by the PWFA
What it helps prevent
- PWFA violations from slow, informal, or undocumented responses
- Forced leave when a reasonable on-the-job accommodation exists
- Unnecessary medical documentation demands for obvious needs
- Essential-function fights that ignore the PWFA's temporary-suspension rule
- Retaliation exposure when accommodation and discipline collide
What’s inside
- Part 1 — Request Intake
- Part 2 — Common Accommodation Options
- Part 3 — Essential Functions Review
- Part 4 — Interactive Dialogue Record
- Part 5 — Forbidden Responses Check
- Part 6 — Undue Hardship Review (only if denying)
- Part 7 — Decision and Follow-Up
Before you process payroll, terminate, classify, deduct, or respond to a claim, get the decision reviewed.
Faulkner HR Solutions helps Texas employers, nonprofits, municipalities, and growing businesses fix the people systems behind recurring workplace problems. If this resource raised a risk flag, do not guess your way through the next step.