Good morning, Broadsheet readers! The WNBA draft is here, sequins are workwear now, and the EEOC sticks to its longstanding interpretation of pregnancy and abortion—despite politics. Have a terrific Tuesday.
– In effect. Ten months after the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act went into effect, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has finalized its enforcement of the law. The EEOC’s regulations were held up, unsurprisingly, by disagreement over abortion.
The PWFA passed as a bipartisan piece of legislation in 2022 promising to protect workers and their jobs during pregnancy. It guarantees accommodations like time off for medical appointments, bathroom breaks, permission to eat or drink on the job, and stools to sit on. When the act got to the EEOC, the commission included abortion as part of “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions,” language that dates back to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
That enraged some Republican lawmakers, who said the agency expanded the scope of the law beyond what Congress intended, and led to an active comment period, in which about 96,000 out of 100,000 public comments on the law mentioned abortion, according to Bloomberg Law. In practice, the AP reports, the most likely accommodation related to abortion would be time off for an appointment or recovery, which is not required to be paid time off. Nor are employers required to cover abortion via health insurance plans.
But after all that hubbub, the EEOC agreed on the terms of enforcing the law, and accommodations related to abortion are still included as part of its protections. An EEOC spokesperson said that the agency has interpreted “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions” to include “the decision to have or not to have an abortion” since 1979—“through both Republican and Democratic administrations.”
The difference now, of course, is that the latest EEOC decision comes after the reversal of Roe v. Wade.
And yet the EEOC’s decision to stick with precedent is a rare common-sense victory for abortion rights these days, when headlines more often spotlight increasing restrictions. Abortion is a “related medical condition” to pregnancy and childbirth; the reversal of Roe doesn’t change that. And a law that guarantees job protections for pregnant people should also guarantee protections for people whose pregnancies end.
Emma Hinchliffe
[email protected]
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ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
- Going pro. The WNBA conducted its draft last night, with the Indiana Fever selecting Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark as the overall No. 1 pick. Stanford’s Cameron Brink, South Carolina’s Kamilla Cardoso, and LSU’s Angel Reese all went in the top 10. The draft was open to the public for the first time since 2016, and the 1,000 available tickets sold out in 15 minutes. ESPN
- Family business. Succession talks are reportedly heating up at luxury conglomerate LVMH as more of CEO Bernard Arnault’s children are expected to join the board of the almost €400 billion empire later this week. Delphine Arnault, CEO of LVMH-owned Dior and the highest ranking Arnault sibling, could be a frontrunner when her father eventually steps down. Financial Times
- Chili debate. Momofuku CEO Marguerite Zabar Mariscal, alongside founder David Chang, announced the company will stop enforcing its trademark for "chile crunch.” Momofuku had sent cease-and-desist letters to smaller brands that use the term, angering the Asian-American food community. Washington Post
- Waiting game. Blackbird, one of the biggest and earliest investors in Melanie Perkins's $26 billion unicorn Canva, earned $A800 million (about $515 million) from selling a portion of its shares. Investor Rick Baker said he “hate[s] selling even one Canva share,” but it was time to return profits to investors as they wait for Canva's IPO. Australian Financial Review
- Shine bright. Professional women are embracing an unlikely workplace fashion trend: sequins, a style they say brings them a sense of strength. WNBA player and ESPN analyst Chiney Ogwumike says sequins “give you the confidence to do the job you know you can do,” while London lawyer Georgina Cook described wearing sequins as “the conscious decision to start standing out and be seen.” Wall Street Journal
- Predatory prison closed. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons is closing FCI Dublin, a women’s prison in California, two years after an Associated Press investigation revealed an epidemic of sexual assault by guards against inmates. At least eight prison employees have been charged with sexually abusing inmates since the 2021 investigation, and eight inmates sued the Bureau of Prisons last year for failing to address the problem. AP
ON MY RADAR
Reeling from mass stabbing, Australians ask: Was it about hatred of women? New York Times
A hidden sexual assault scandal at the New York Philharmonic Vulture
Dua Lipa manifested all of this Time
PARTING WORDS
“They’ve identified me as a safe person to speak to about their story. At first, that role was really overwhelming. And now, it’s an honor. I’m honored to be that person.”
— Christine Blasey Ford on the more than 100,000 letters she's received since accusing Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault
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