Senator Bob Casey Visits MFHS to Address the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
Maternal and Family Health Services was proud to host US Senator Bob Casey this morning as he spoke about a bill aimed at protecting pregnant women in the workforce. “The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act”, says Casey, “is just something that makes sense. We want women to have healthy pregnancies and healthy babies, and to be productive members of the workforce.” The bill is aimed at providing reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers so they can continue to work.
Sen. Casey is currently gathering support in the community and among members of Congress for the bill. He noted that in the last 12 months, 2.6 million women in the workforce have given birth, and 96,729 of those mothers live in Pennsylvania. The good news, notes the Senator, is that many businesses already make reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers. The bill is also designed so that the ‘reasonable accommodations’ requirement scales appropriately to the size of the employer, so that it does not place an undue burden on either party.
Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton was also in attendance at this morning’s press conference, and he also supports the bill. Leighton noted that the Mayor’s Office does all it can to work with pregnant employees, and find solutions to help them keep working when they reasonable accommodations, as it supports both the mother’s health and her family’s economic stability.
Thank you to Sen. Casey for choosing MFHS to host this event and for your continued support of our agency and community.