[ONLINE] - The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and the Future of the Care Movement

On June 27, 2023, the PWFA will go into effect, ensuring that covered pregnant and postpartum workers are entitled to receive the reasonable accommodations they need in order to continue working and supporting themselves and their families. The new law is the culmination of a hard-won 10-year campaign that arose from the lived experience of pregnant workers and new moms sharing their stories of facing bias, discrimination and often job loss and family hardship when employers denied requests for accommodations like appropriately fitting uniforms, temporary light duty assignments, additional bathroom or water breaks or flexible schedules.

The fight for the PWFA spanned both the state and federal levels and also brought together broad, diverse and often bipartisan coalitions: 30 states, Washington DC, and four localities passed their own laws protecting pregnant workers prior to the federal law, and nearly all of these state laws passed with strong bipartisan support.

At a time when the United States remains an outlier among peer competitive economies for failing to invest in the policies that help families flourish, like paid family and medical leave, schedule control and universal care infrastructure, join us as we explore how the power of story and broad coalitions were key to passing the federal PWFA and what we can learn from this success to move family-sustaining public policy forward.

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Schedule

Welcome

• Julia Craven | Senior Writer & Editor, New America's Better Life Lab

Fireside Chat: The Power of Story

• Brigid Schulte | Director, New America's Better Life Lab (moderator)
• Dina Bakst | Co-Founder & Co-President, A Better Balance
• Lyndi Trischler | Kentucky police officer and ABB Community Advocate, featured in this 2014 Washington Post story, who was unfairly forced onto unpaid leave while pregnant rather than be given light duty work.
• Natasha Jackson | South Carolina mother and ABB Community Advocate who lost her job and ultimately her house while pregnant when she requested light duty and flexible hours due to pregnancy-induced morning sickness.

Panel Discussion: The Importance of Building Broad Coalitions 

• Vicki Shabo | Senior Fellow, New America's Better Life Lab (moderator)
• Marc Freedman | Vice President, Employment Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
• Sarah Brafman | National Policy Director, A Better Balance
• Vania Leveille | Senior Legislative Counsel, ACLU
• Emily Martin | Vice President, National Women’s Law Center
• Stacey Brayboy | Senior Vice President Public Policy & Government Affairs, March of Dimes