A woman going through IVF needs short breaks for shots and a work schedule that fits her doctor's visits. A law passed in 2022 lets her ask for that. Trump's Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the agency that enforces workplace civil rights, is reportedly getting ready to take that protection out of its rule.
The New York Times reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the plans, that the agency plans to rewrite the rule behind the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, and to publish its proposal as soon as this month. Common Dreams reports the agency was holding off until after Tuesday's election. The Times story doesn't say that, and the agency's own regulatory agenda had already listed November 2026.
Mini Timmaraju, who leads Reproductive Freedom for All, sees the timing as deliberate: "It's unconscionable to force workers to choose between the care they need and keeping their job, which is why the Trump administration is waiting until after the election to roll this out."
What the law does
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act became law in 2022. It covers basic things: bathroom and water breaks, a pass on heavy lifting, time off for prenatal visits. Employers have to make reasonable room for workers dealing with "pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions."
A rule written in 2024 spelled out what "related" means. It covered a wide range of reproductive health conditions, including fertility treatment, abortion and menstruation.
A federal judge in Louisiana has already struck down the part requiring employers to accommodate elective abortions. The other protections stayed in place. Those are the ones now on the table.
What the Trump agency wants to cut
The agency's chair is Andrea Lucas, a conservative employment lawyer. When the rule was written, she voted against it. Her dissent said it wrongly mixed up pregnancy with "female biology and reproduction."
Her objection went well past abortion. According to Common Dreams, she said the law should not cover:
- Infertility and IVF
- Menstruation and menopause
- Hormonal conditions
- Lactation-related conditions
- Birth control and its side effects
The Times reports the agency could cut the list of covered conditions, leaving employers and courts to decide. Wider religious exemptions are also under consideration, which could let an employer refuse a worker's request by saying it goes against the employer's beliefs.
This runs straight into Trump's own promises. He has called himself "the fertilization president" and pledged more access to fertility treatment. In May, 15 Democratic senators warned Lucas that the current rule protects workers "undergoing IVF" who ask for things like short breaks for medication, a schedule that fits daily monitoring visits, "or even access to a chair."
The Republicans who said no in 2021
This fight isn't new for a big part of the Republican Party in Congress. The bill came back to the House floor in May 2021. It passed easily, but 101 Republicans voted no, while 99 voted yes.
We checked that roll call against the candidates on this site. Fifty-nine of those 101 are still here, not counting Ralph Norman and John Rose, who lost Republican races this year. They voted against a bill whose most basic job is letting a pregnant worker take a water break.
Alabama: Robert Aderholt, Barry Moore, Gary Palmer, Mike Rogers
Arizona: Paul Gosar
Arkansas: Rick Crawford, Bruce Westerman
California: Tom McClintock
Colorado: Lauren Boebert
Florida: Kat Cammack, Byron Donalds, Scott Franklin, Brian Mast, Greg Steube
Georgia: Rick Allen, Andrew Clyde, Austin Scott
Idaho: Russ Fulcher
Illinois: Darin LaHood, Mary Miller
Indiana: Jim Baird
Kansas: Tracey Mann
Kentucky: Andy Barr
Louisiana: Clay Higgins, Mike Johnson, Julia Letlow
Maryland: Andy Harris
Michigan: Lisa McClain, Tim Walberg
Mississippi: Michael Guest
Nebraska: Adrian Smith
North Carolina: Virginia Foxx, David Rouzer
Ohio: Warren Davidson, Jim Jordan
Oklahoma: Kevin Hern
Pennsylvania: John Joyce, Mike Kelly, Scott Perry, Guy Reschenthaler, Lloyd Smucker
South Carolina: William Timmons
Tennessee: Tim Burchett, Scott DesJarlais, Diana Harshbarger
Texas: Brian Babin, John Carter, Michael Cloud, Pat Fallon, Lance Gooden, Ronny Jackson, August Pfluger, Pete Sessions, Beth Van Duyne, Randy Weber
Virginia: Ben Cline
West Virginia: Carol Miller
Wisconsin: Scott Fitzgerald, Glenn Grothman
Mike Johnson is now Speaker of the House. Tim Walberg chairs the House committee on education and the workforce. Byron Donalds was elected governor of Florida on Tuesday.
This is part of a pattern
The workplace rule isn't the only thing timed around the votes. Common Dreams, citing reporting last month, says the Justice Department was also waiting until after the election to step up efforts to restrict abortion pills, possibly even in states where abortion is legal. We covered that reporting in October. The White House denied it.
IVF has been a test for Republicans before. In Nevada, Governor Joe Lombardo vetoed a bill that would have written a right to IVF into state law.
What the record shows
Trump's workplace civil rights agency reportedly plans to narrow the rule behind the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act as soon as this month, possibly cutting the list of covered conditions and widening religious exemptions. When the bill came to the House floor in 2021, 101 Republicans voted no, and 59 of them are candidates on this site. Women who need a break, a chair or a doctor's visit to keep both their health and their job are the ones who stand to lose.
Sources
Trump Administration Said to Plan Rolling Back Pregnancy-Related Job Protections, The New York Times.
Trump to End Reproductive Health Protections for Working Women After Midterms, Common Dreams, citing the New York Times.
