Pregnant Workers Fairness Act

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.

I thank Chairman Nadler for introducing this vital bill, and I also thank Chairman Scott for his incredible leadership and his work in getting it to the floor.

Ending discrimination against pregnant workers is a critical component in closing the economic divide between men and women in our country.

Before coming to Congress, I ran Colorado's Consumer Protection Agency, which included our State civil rights division, and I saw up close in the complaints that we adjudicated the unfortunate reality is that women are often denied even the simplest of workplace accommodations because they are pregnant, and too often women are forced out or not considered for hire due to their pregnancy. This must end. And we have an incredible opportunity to do precisely that by getting this bill across the finish line today.

I am a proud supporter of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, and I would encourage every Member of this body to vote ``aye'' on this critical legislation.

Madam Speaker, I submit for the Record a letter from the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, a 1.4 million-member organization highlighting their support for this critical legislation. International Brotherhood of Teamsters, September 11, 2020. House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Representative: On behalf of the 1.4 million members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, I urge you to support H.R. 2694, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act when it comes to the floor in the next week. The Teamsters Union is proud to support this important legislation which would promote healthy pregnancies and economic security for pregnant women.

In the last few decades, there has been a demographic shift in the workplace. Women now make up almost half of the workforce. There are more pregnant workers than ever before and they are working later into their pregnancies. Yet, too often, instead of providing a pregnant worker with an accommodation, her employer will fire her or push her onto unpaid leave, depriving her of a paycheck and health insurance at a time when she needs them most.

While pregnancy discrimination affects women across race, ethnicity and economic status, women of color and low-wage workers are disproportionately impacted. Women of color are more likely to hold certain inflexible and physically demanding jobs that can present specific challenges for pregnant workers, making reasonable accommodations on the job even more important.

In 2018, the New York Times ran a front page article detailing the tragic loss experienced by a number of women working at a Verizon fulfillment center/warehouse in Memphis, TN, operated by XPO Logistics and previously operated by New Breed Logistics. New Breed and XPO should be quite familiar at this point, as they have garnered considerable press attention in recent weeks. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy was CEO of New Breed and served on the XPO Board during the time at which these tragedies took place.

The women who worked at the Memphis warehouse generally spent twelve hour shifts moving boxes full of Verizon cell phones and other devices. Upon becoming pregnant, all had asked for reasonable accommodations, including light duty. Three of the women said that they even brought in doctors' notes recommending less-taxing workloads and shorter shifts, but supervisors disregarded the letters.

Certainly, some of these women considered leaving their jobs with New Breed/XPO, or taking unpaid leave to protect theirs and their unborn child's health, but at an average hourly wage of $11/hr, unpaid leave and elective terms of unemployment are entirely unrealistic.

In response to the New York Times article and additional coverage by the Los Angeles Times and the PBS Newshour, nearly 100 members of Congress submitted a letter to the House Committee on Education and Labor urging investigation into the disturbing treatment of workers at the Memphis facility. With pressure mounting, XPO solicited the counsel of an outside expert to draft an internal policy to address the needs of pregnant workers. This was a step in the right direction, but it should not take congressional action and national press coverage to compel an employer to do the right thing. Make no mistake, this new XPO policy only exists because of the workers in Memphis who stood up and spoke out.

Unfortunately, XPO's new policy has zero chance of helping women at the Memphis facility. Two months after announcing the policy, XPO Logistics abruptly announced that it would shut down the warehouse where all of the women featured in the New York Times article had worked. This action creates a chilling effect on other workers who might choose to access reasonable accommodations at XPO. What pregnant worker is going to feel comfortable asking for reasonable accommodation when the end result of speaking up might be job loss? Key among its many protections is that H.R. 2694 would prohibit retaliation against pregnant workers who request accommodation.

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act will provide a clear, predictable rule: employers must provide reasonable accommodations for limitations arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, unless this would pose an undue hardship. No woman should have to choose between providing for her family and maintaining a healthy pregnancy. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act would ensure that all women working for covered employers would be protected.

The Teamsters Union is proud to stand with XPO workers and all pregnant workers demanding change. I urge you to stand up to unscrupulous employers like XPO and swiftly enact H.R. 2694, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. Sincerely, James P. Hoffa, General President.

Ms. FOXX of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

It is a great disappointment to me that I will be voting against this legislation before us today. My Republican colleagues and I have long been committed to policies and laws that empower all Americans to achieve success, and this includes protections in Federal law for pregnant workers. We agree that discrimination of any type should not be tolerated, and no one should ever be denied an opportunity because of unlawful discrimination. I will repeat that, Madam Speaker. We agree that discrimination of any type should not be tolerated, and no one should ever be denied an opportunity because of unlawful discrimination.

After meaningful and necessary bipartisan improvements were made to H.R. 2694 during the committee markup, it is unfortunate today's legislation falls short in protecting one of our Nation's most treasured rights, freedom of religion, the first right mentioned in the Bill of Rights.

Democrats' refusal to include a commonsense provision that protects religious organizations from being forced to make employment decisions that conflict with their faith is short-sighted, disappointing, and easy to fix.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source