Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, in a 17-state coalition of attorneys general, is taking legal action against the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over its new rule requiring both state and private employers to “accommodate abortion through an illegal interpretation of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act of 2022.”
The Florida Republican labeled it Democratic President Joe Biden’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission “illegal abortion mandate.”
“Unelected commissioners under the Biden administration are seeking to hijack protections for pregnant workers by twisting language into an illegal interpretation of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act of 2022,” Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody said. “We are fighting back against the unprecedented, attempted mutation of these laws.”
The PWFA fills a gap in federal law by ensuring pregnant women in the workplace receive accommodation to protect their pregnancies and unborn children. A diverse coalition of lawmakers, business groups and nonprofit organizations supported that pro-family aim and secured broad bipartisan support.
Yet in a new rule, Republicans say “unelected commissioners at the EEOC seek to hijack the protections for pregnancies by requiring employers to accommodate women’s elective abortions or face a federal suit.” They add it is something the U.S. Congress clearly did not authorize. Further, the AGs say the EEOC’s rule contradicts states’ duly enacted abortion prohibitions and undermines the states’ commitment to protecting prenatal life at all stages of development.
If the EEOC’s rule stands, Florida, the co-plaintiff states and others must allocate resources to support women’s elective abortions or face a federal suit, even if illegal under state law. Seventeen states are bringing this complaint to enjoin and set aside the EEOC’s “unprecedented and unlawful abortion-accommodation mandate.”
Florida Attorney General Moody is joined by the attorneys general of the following states in filing the lawsuit: Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and West Virginia.
To read the lawsuit, click here.
