WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Rep. John Katko (R, NY-24) today released the following statement after the House passed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, bipartisan legislation Katko introduced alongside U.S. Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D, NY-10), Lucy McBath (D, GA-6), Jaime Herrera Beutler (R, WA-3), and Bobby Scott (D, VA-3) that would protect pregnant workers from workplace discrimination:
“I’m glad to work across the aisle to advance this important piece of bipartisan legislation to ensure no mother or mother-to-be in this nation has to choose between being a parent and keeping their job. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which passed the House today, takes steps to protect pregnant workers from workplace discrimination by implementing a uniform, fair, and familiar framework for employers. In effect, this bill enables pregnant workers to provide for their families while remaining healthy and safe in the workplace.
“With many in Congress focused on party politics this week, I’m proud to report I’ve passed four commonsense measures, including the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. I was sent to Congress to work on behalf of Central New York and govern. That has, and will always be my focus.”
Background:
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act would address legal ambiguities and help ensure that pregnant women are treated fairly on the job. The legislation, which is closely modeled after the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), would require employers to make reasonable accommodations—such as a minor job modification—that would allow pregnant workers to continue working and prevent them from being forced on leave or out of their jobs. The bill also prohibits employers from denying employment opportunities to women based on their need for reasonable accommodations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.
The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act has broad support from more than 200 worker advocacy, civil rights, and business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
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The House vote was 315-101. This is Democratic legislation. Half of House Republicans voted against it. Now and then, Katko attaches himself to Democratic stuff that would pass with or without his vote in a thus far successful strategy to deflect attention from the fact that at his core, John Katko is a partisan Republican, that at its core, the Republican Party is a fascist authoritarian antidemocratic entity bent on total corporate and oligarch control of the United States and the world. John Katko deserves precisely zero credit for the passage of this bill.