Questions, followed by members who sit only after all Committee Members who are present have gone shall members who are not on the committee on education and labor ask questions. Pursuant to Committee Rule seven c, Opening Statements are limited to the chair and Ranking Member. This allows us to hear from our witnesses sooner and provide all members with adequate time to ask questions. I recognize myself for the purpose of making an opening statement. As a mom and policymaker, i know how important it is to protect the Economic Security of pregnant women and working families. Unfortunately, our current laws are inadequate and many pregnant workers are placed on unpaid leave, or forced out of work, when they only need a simple accommodation to stay on the job during pregnancy. Today, we are holding a legislative hearing on hr 2694, the pregnant workers fairness act. Reason will accommodations that will allow them to stay in the workplace. I would like to thank our witnesses for being here to provide important insight on the discrimination and hardship pregnant women face when they are denied reasonable accommodations in the workplace. I want to thank Judiciary Committee chairman jerry nadler the lead sponsor of this bill, for taking time to join us. According to a better balance, 75 percent of women will be pregnant while employed at sometime in their life. Women are increasingly either the primary or cobreadwinners of households and as a result, more pregnant women work later into their pregnancy. In fact, Research Suggests that more than 80 of firsttime mothers worked until their final month of pregnancy firsttime mothers work until their final month of pregnancy. Reasonable accommodations can range from providing feeding, water, and light duty to pregnant workers from tasks involving dangerous substances. When pregnant workers do not have access to the reasonable Workplace Accommodations they need, they are often forced to choose between Financial Security and pregnancy. The consequent as can be devastating. It is also important to note that women of color are overrepresented in lowwage, physically demanding jobs, and are disproportionately affected by a lack of access to reasonable accommodations. In 1978, Congress First recognized the responsibility to provide pregnant women with fair and equal treatment in the workplace. When they pass the pregnancy discrimination act. The law clarified that discrimination against pregnant workers is discrimination on the basis of sex under title vii. The law also requires businesses to treat pregnant workers as they would other physically impaired workers, yet, 41 years after the passage of the pregnancy discrimination act, federal law still falls short of guaranteeing that all pregnant workers have reasonable accommodations. Under current law, a pregnant worker must show her employer accommodated similarly situated coworkers, a burdensome and often impossible standard to meet. The americans with disabilities act covers pregnancyrelated impairments but leaves women with less serious pregnancy related impairment whose end we need accommodations without legal recourse. Even the Supreme Courts decision in young versus ups, which affirmed private workers rights to reasonable accommodations under the pregnancy discrimination act, has not provided workers or businesses the clarity or Legal Certainty they need. In fact, since young versus ups, approximately at least 70 of courts have denied reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers. Pregnant women today continue to suffer Workplace Discrimination at an alarming rate. According to a 212 2012 survey, more than 60 of workers have seen pregnancy discrimination on the job. For these women, being pregnant could mean losing a job, being denied a promotion or not being hired in the first place. Guaranteeing that pregnant workers have a reasonable accommodation in the workplace is a crucial step to eradicating pregnancy discrimination. Without federal protections for pregnant workers, several states from across the geographic and political spectrum have taken action to fill the void. My home state of oregon is one of those helping to lead the way. Earlier this year, the state Legislature Passed a bipartisan bill to require employers to provide reasonable accommodations to applicants or employees with no limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical condition unless it would impose undue hardship. As of this month, 27 states and the district of columbia and four cities have required employers with more than 15 employees to provide accommodation, bringing certainty preventing costly disputes and keeping pregnant women safe on the job. Without a federal benchmark, workers and employers are left with a patch work a patchwork of laws that provide strong protections for some and none for others. We need to make sure all pregnant workers, regarless of where they live, can access protections they need to stay in the workplace. That is why we are discussing the pregnant workers fairness act. This bill would establish a pregnant workers right to reasonable accommodations and guarantee pregnant workers can seek those accommodations without facing discrimination or retaliation in the workplace. The pregnant workers fairness act is an opportunity for congress to finally fulfill the promise of the pregnancy discrimination act and take a step toward workplace gender equity, healthy pregnancies and Economic Security of all pregnant and parenting women and their families. I welcome the opportunity to work with my republican colleagues to move this bill forward in a bipartisan manner. I request unanimous consent to enter two letters into the record. One from the International Brotherhood of teamsters and more than 100 stakeholder groups. Both in support of the pregnant workers fairness act. I yield to the raking member for an opening statement. Thank you madam chairman. I want to welcome the witnesses who are here today including my friend and fellow kentuckian irish wilbur. Policies and laws that empower allamericans americans to achieve success. Discrimination of any type should not be tolerated. No one should ever be denied an opportunity because of unlawful discrimination. That is why there are important protections under federal law to prevent Workplace Discrimination, including federal laws that protect pregnant workers. The americans with disabilities act provides protections to pregnant workers. The pregnancy discrimination act outlaws pregnancy discrimination. A 2015 Supreme Court ruling affirmed Must Companies must treat pregnant workers equally and fairly and states including my state of kentucky have passed laws protecting pregnant workers. The equal Employment Opportunity commission, the primary federal agency that enforces civil rights laws against Workplace Discrimination, has stated that ada requires employers to accommodate pregnancy related limitations. Republicans in congress have long supported meaningful and clearly defined protections for pregnant workers to ensure they are not being unlawfully discriminated against as it relates to pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions. We should promote policies in washington that encourage a strong family, allow families to flourish and protect life at all stages. The purpose of americas nondiscrimination laws and the agencies and forcing them is to give all americans equal opportunities to succeed. That being said, overzealous Government Intervention often causes more harm than good. While we are committed to preventing unlawful discrimination, we should examine legislation that could cause confusion and prove difficult to implement. We should prioritize discrimination policies that are responsible and effective so our nations workers and job creators can flourish and americas workplaces can be free from discrimination. The committee should evaluate the federal laws already on the books that provide protection for pregnant workers as well as the provisions of hr 2694 before advancing legislation that could have unexpected consequences. The hearing today is a starting point in this regard. Bottom line, pregnant workers should be protected and reasonably accommodated in the workplace. So i look forward to hearing from our Witnesses Today as we examine the pregnant workers fairness act. Madam chair, your i yield back. All other members who wish to insert written statement into the record may do so by submitting them electronically in microsoft word format by 5 00 p. M. November 4 2019. I will introduce our first witness. Congas men jerry nadler represents new yorks 10th congressional district. Congressman nadler is the chairman of House Committee on the judiciary. For more than 30 years, chairman nadler has been on the front lines in the fight for civil rights and he has been a relentless defender of our countrys fundamental promise of equality for all. Congressman nadler has played a role in the fight for womens rights serving as a central figure in the reauthorization of the violence against women act and hes the author of the pregnant workers fairness act. We appreciate the witness for being here today and look forward to your testimony. Let me remind the witness we have read your written statement and it will appear in full in the record pursuant to Committee Rules 7d. Before you begin your testimony, remember to press the button on the microphone in front of you. We know you know this. The light in front of you will turn green and after four minutes it will be yellow to signal you have one minute remaining. When it turns read your five minutes have expired. I now recognize chairman jerry nadler for your testimony. Thank you for holding his hearing today and inviting me to testify about my bill, the pregnant workers fairness act. This hearing is long overdue. Pregnancy discrimination is not a new issue. For as long as women have been in the workforce they had been fired, passed over for promotion or hiring, had work cut back or forced out on leave when they became pregnant or started a family. In the last six months we have seen multiple reports about workers forced off the job who are pregnant because they needed a simple fix to keep working. Pregnancy is not a disability. Sometimes due to complications even healthy pregnancies, workers need a reasonable accommodation such as a stool, an extra bathroom break, limiting contact with certain chemicals or reducing the amount of lifting they do. These accommodations are short in duration and typically cost very little to provide. For millions of pregnant workers, they are critical. Simple accommodation could mean the difference between staying on the job or being forced on leave. The difference between keeping Health Insurance and paycheck or putting pregnancy at risk. Congress passed the pregnancy disc nation act in an effort to stop employers from treating their pregnant employees this way. Prohibited discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth or related conditions. Courts have interpreted the law to mean if you treat your nonpregnant employees well you have to treat your pregnant employees well. The inverse is also true. If you treat your nonpregnant employees terribly you have every right to treat your pregnant employees terribly. In 2015, the Supreme Court attended to address how the pregnancy disability act discrimination act interacted with the need for pregnancy accommodations in the workplace. The courts decision exacerbated the problem in the end. In young vs ups, the court found in order to receive an accommodation pregnant worker has to prove that her employer accommodated nonpregnant employees with similar tissue are similar in their ability to work. It requires pregnant workers to detailed knowledge of the medical and employment history of every other employee. Women must prove their need for an accommodation is just as valid as their male counterpart who had a hernia for example. For most workers, especially lowwage workers, there is no way to get that information and prove their case. A recent report from better balance found two thirds of pregnancy accommodation cases the burden the decision places is for most pregnant women insurmountable. Congress introduced legislation to address pregnancy accommodation including a bill introduced last week by my republican colleagues. This new legislation appears to be based on the young test and requires employers provide accommodation for some of their nonpregnant employees they must do so for pregnant employees and similar working conditions. Im happy to see this additional interest in ensuring pregnant workers have the accommodations they need to stay on the job at the problem with young and therefore the problem with mr. Wahlberg and ms. Wagners proposal is that they require pregnant workers to prove they have been discriminated against in order to access accommodations. It does not have to be that complicated. That is why i introduced the bipartisan pregnant workers fairness act. The bill creates an affirmative right to an accommodation, rather than relying on a model of discrimination. Using the language of the ada it requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant workers as long as the accommodation is not imposed in undue hardship on the employer. Those accommodations would be available for pregnancy, childbirth or related conditions including lactation. Courts know exactly how to interpret the language. Employers similarly have worked within adas requirements for decades and know exactly what their responsibilities will be. Must importantly, women will have the certainty they can safely stay on the job as long as they choose as we know that this framework for pregnancy accommodation works because weve seen it in action. To date, 27 states around the country have passed pregnancy accommodation laws similar to the pregnant workers fairness act. State like new york, nebraska, washington state. South carolina and kentucky have passed legislation to provide reasonable accommodation in a bipartisan manner. The bill has over 100 bipartisan cosponsors and is supported by a broad range of health, labor, business and Womens Health rights organizations. Thank you to the chair and i look forward to continuing to work with you and this committee to move this critical piece of legislation forward. Thank you chairman nadler. Thank you for taking time to testify before the committee today. Your testimony is a valuable piece of legislative record. We will now seat the second panel. Thank you. Thank you to the witnesses and the Committee Staff for that smooth transition. I will now introduce our witnesses for the second panel. Ms. Kimberly Michele Durham is from alabama. Ms. Durham made the trip to washington dc to share her story. Formerly an emergency medical technician in alabama, ms. Durham was forced off the job when she became pregnant. Next, ms. Iris wilbur, joined Greater Louisville inc. The Metro Chamber of commerce in 2016. She serves as Vice President of Government Affairs and public policy. She works on policy and legislation at the local, state and federal levels to help advocate for the regions business community. Ms. Ellen mclaughlin is engaged in a broadbased Employment Law practice, specializing in federal and state court and Administrative Agency employment litigation. Ms. Dena bax is a National Advocacy organization headquartered in new york city. A better balance is dedicated to advancing the rights of working families, promoting fairness in the workplace and helping workers across the economic Spectrum Care for themselves and their families without risking Economic Security. We appreciate all of the witnesses for being here today and we look forward to your testimony. Let me remind the witnesses that we have read your written statements and they will appear in full in hearing record. Pursuant to Committee Rule seven d and Committee Practice, each of you is asked to limit your oral presentation to a five minute summary of your written testimony. Let me remind the witnesses that pursuant to title 18 of the u. S. Code section 1001, it is illegal to knowingly, willfully, falsify any statement, representation, writing, document or material fact presented to congress or otherwise conceal or cover up a material fact. Before you begin you testimony please remember to press the button on the microphone in front of you so it will turn on and members can hear you. As you begin to speak, the light in front of you will turn green. After four minutes the light will turn yellow to signal you have one minute remaining and when the light turns red youre five minutes have expired and we ask that you wrap up your testimony. We will let the entire panel make their presentations for before we move to member questions. When answering a question please remember to turn your microphone on. I will first recognize ms. Durham. Welcome to the committee. You are recognized for five minutes for your testimony. My name is Michele Durham and im a mom from alabama. I want to thank congresswoman bonamici, congressman kelmur, and subCommittee Members for having here today. Yes today was the first time ive ever been on a plane. It was a little scary but i was glad to make the trip. I want you to know they say pregnancy is supposed to be a time of happiness but my pregnan