PWFA Compliance Checklist for HR Teams: Policy, Audit, Common Mistakes and Retaliation Risk

Before You Start: What Is Stable and What May Change

• Statute (stable): 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000gg–2000gg-6: the duty to accommodate; the bans on forced accommodations, forced leave, adverse action, retaliation, and coercion; the remedies; and the core definitions.
• Regulation and interpretive guidance (may change): 29 C.F.R. Part 1636 and Appendix A, effective June 18, 2024: limits on medical documentation, the four "predictable assessment" modifications, the 40-week presumption, unnecessary-delay factors, and examples.

Status as checked on October 4, 2026. The regulation's text is unchanged since 2024. Louisiana v. EEOC (W.D. La., May 21, 2025) vacated the part of the rule and guidance treating elective abortion as a "related medical condition"; the rest was not vacated, and a related appeal is pending in the Fifth Circuit. In Texas v. Bondi, a district court enjoined enforcement against the State of Texas as an employer on the ground that the statute was not validly enacted. A Fifth Circuit panel reversed in August 2025, the full court vacated that decision in January 2026 to rehear the case, and no en banc ruling was found as of this date. That case does not change private employers' obligations today. The EEOC's regulatory agenda projects a proposed rule revising Part 1636, including the interpretation of "pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions," for November 2026. Check federalregister.gov and the Fifth Circuit before relying on this paragraph.

Items marked (reg) below should be rechecked whenever the regulation is revised.

The PWFA Compliance Checklist

1. Coverage and Written Policy

• Confirm coverage: 15 or more employees; applicants are covered as well as employees. Check whether a state or local law reaches smaller worksites. Check applicable state law.
• The policy states that accommodations are available for known limitations related to, affected by, or arising out of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, whether or not the condition is a disability.
• The policy does not borrow ADA or FMLA thresholds: no "disability," "serious health condition," length-of-service, or hours-worked requirement.
• The policy says a request can be made orally to a supervisor or HR, by the employee or a representative, without a form. (reg)
• The policy says temporary suspension of an essential function will be considered. See Reasonable Accommodations Under the PWFA.
• The policy states that employees will not be required to take leave if another reasonable accommodation can be provided, and will not be required to accept an accommodation they did not agree to through the interactive process.
• The anti-retaliation section covers requesting or using an accommodation, helping a coworker request one, and filing or taking part in a charge.
• Other policies do not contradict it: fixed maximum-leave rules, "no exceptions" language, probationary-period absence bans, no-fault point systems, no-food-or-drink rules, and light duty limited to on-the-job injuries. See No-Fault Attendance Policies and Protected Leave.
• The current EEOC "Know Your Rights" poster is displayed where employee notices are customarily posted. Check the current poster version at eeoc.gov/poster.

2. Intake and Forms

• Supervisors know that what they are told counts as notice to the employer and how to pass it to HR the same day. See PWFA Known Limitations.
• Any request form is optional and does not ask about "impairments," "major life activities," past accommodations, or preexisting conditions. (reg)
• A request log captures the date received, who received it, the request in the employee's words, and every later contact.
• The four simple modifications—water, restroom breaks, sitting or standing, and breaks to eat and drink—are pre-approved for pregnant employees, with a named person who can say yes immediately. (reg)
• There is a way to provide an interim accommodation that keeps the employee working while a decision is pending. Leave is used as an interim measure only if the employee chooses it. (reg)
• Internal response targets exist and are tracked. The law sets no fixed number of days but treats unnecessary delay as a possible violation. (reg)

3. Documentation and Confidentiality

• Only HR may ask for supporting documentation, and only when reasonable under the circumstances. (reg)
• No blanket rule requires a medical note for every accommodation request. (reg)
• Documentation is not requested where the need is obvious, already documented, one of the four simple modifications for a pregnant employee, a pumping request, or available to other employees without a note. Self-confirmation is accepted in any form. (reg)
• When documentation is requested, the request is limited to confirming the condition, its connection to pregnancy or childbirth, the change needed, and its expected duration. No specific form, employer-chosen examiner, or requirement that the provider be the treating provider. (reg)
• Employees get sufficient time to obtain documentation, and an interim accommodation is considered in the meantime. (reg)
• Medical information, including the fact of pregnancy and the existence of an accommodation, is kept in a separate confidential file under the ADA rule (29 C.F.R. § 1630.14), and supervisors are told only the restrictions and accommodations.

The full rules are in PWFA Interactive Process and Documentation.

4. Decisions and Denials

• The employee's preference among effective options is given primary consideration, and the option chosen gives an equal opportunity in pay, performance, and benefits. (reg)
• No supervisor can deny a request. Denials are made by HR on a written undue-hardship analysis using the factors in 29 C.F.R. § 1636.3(j), with the additional factors when an essential function would be suspended. (reg)
• Before any denial, the file shows that partial accommodation and alternatives were considered and offered.
• Prohibited reasons are screened out: coworker morale, customer preference, "we have never done it," and the prospect of future requests.
• Decisions are confirmed to the employee in writing with start and review dates.

See PWFA Undue Hardship and Denial for the analysis and a denial record.

5. Coordination With Other Laws

• Each request is screened for the ADA, FMLA, state leave and accommodation laws, workers' compensation, and the PUMP Act, and the file notes which apply.
• FMLA ineligibility or exhaustion is never recorded as a reason to deny PWFA leave; leave is assessed as an accommodation subject to undue hardship.
• Where a state or local law gives greater protection, it is applied; the PWFA does not displace it (42 U.S.C. § 2000gg-5(a)(1)). Check applicable state law.
• Production standards, quotas, and attendance points are adjusted for approved leave and breaks. (reg)
• Religious organizations review the statute's rule of construction on religious employment (42 U.S.C. § 2000gg-5(b)) with counsel; its scope is contested in pending litigation.

6. Training

• Supervisors are trained on recognizing requests, the four simple modifications, forced leave, retaliation, confidentiality, and the handoff to HR. Use the PWFA Guide for Managers.
• New supervisors are trained at promotion or hire, and attendance is recorded.
• HR staff who decide requests are trained on documentation limits, temporary suspension of essential functions, and undue hardship.

7. Records

• Accommodation requests and related records are kept at least one year from the record or the personnel action, whichever is later (29 C.F.R. § 1602.14).
• When a charge is filed, all records relevant to it are preserved until final disposition.

How to Audit: Review Real Files

A policy review tells you what should happen; a file review tells you what does. Once or twice a year, pull the pregnancy-related accommodation requests from the period, or a sample, and add any you find only in supervisor emails or attendance notes.

Add a walk-through of the workplace: seating at standing jobs, access to water and restrooms, and a lactation space that is not a bathroom. Fix what you find, record the fix, and retrain where the pattern points to a supervisor or a site.

Common Mistakes

1. Treating the PWFA like the ADA. Requiring a disability, or denying because an essential function cannot be performed for now.
2. Missing informal requests. A comment to a shift lead is a request.
3. Blanket documentation rules. Requiring a medical note for every request.
4. Defaulting to leave. Sending the employee home because it is simpler than adjusting the job.
5. Deciding for the employee. Removing duties or travel out of concern, without being asked.
6. Letting the supervisor say no. No HR review, no hardship analysis, no alternatives.
7. Slow handling of easy requests. Delay on the four simple modifications will virtually always be found unnecessary.
8. Penalizing use of the accommodation. Attendance points, unadjusted quotas, lost overtime.
9. Loose confidentiality. Explaining an accommodation to the team.
10. Misreading the interactive process. Failing to engage is not by itself a violation, but the employer is liable if a workable accommodation was available and not provided. Following every step is not a defense if the accommodation should have been granted.

Retaliation and Coercion: 42 U.S.C. § 2000gg-2(f)

The PWFA has two layers of protection, and both are statutory.

Retaliation, § 2000gg-2(f)(1). No person may discriminate against an employee because the employee opposed a practice the PWFA makes unlawful, or made a charge, testified, assisted, or participated in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing.

Coercion, § 2000gg-2(f)(2). It is unlawful to "coerce, intimidate, threaten, harass, or interfere with" any individual in the exercise of PWFA rights, or because the individual exercised them or helped someone else do so.

The regulation and guidance add points that matter for an audit:

• A request for accommodation is itself protected activity.
• The person need not be a qualified employee with a known limitation; a coworker or union steward who helps is protected.
• The conduct may be actionable even if the employee was not actually deterred.
• There is no undue-hardship defense to a retaliation claim.
• Seeking documentation beyond what the regulation allows, or disclosing medical information, may violate this section.
• A policy that purports to limit PWFA rights, such as a fixed leave rule with "no exceptions," is the EEOC's example of coercion.

Separately, 42 U.S.C. § 2000gg-1(5) prohibits adverse action against a qualified employee for requesting or using an accommodation. Guidance examples include a poor rating after HR overruled a supervisor's denial, surveillance of an employee who filed a charge, and a write-up under a 90-day no-absence rule for an approved medical appointment.

Controls: Route any discipline, schedule change, or rating downgrade that follows a request through HR, require the business reason in writing first, and compare treatment with employees who made no request. See Workplace Retaliation Prevention and Documentation.

Remedies and the Charge Process

The PWFA borrows Title VII's enforcement machinery for private-sector and state and local government employees (42 U.S.C. § 2000gg-2(a)).

Charge

The EEOC has accepted PWFA charges since June 27, 2023. Under Title VII's rule, a charge must generally be filed within 180 days of the alleged violation, or 300 days where a state or local fair employment agency also has authority over the practice. After the EEOC issues a notice of right to sue, the individual has 90 days to file in court. Federal employees follow a separate process. See EEOC Complaint Process and Employer Response.

Remedies

A court can order the accommodation, reinstatement, and back pay, and can award attorney's fees to the prevailing party. Compensatory and punitive damages are available under 42 U.S.C. § 1981a, with a combined cap for each complaining party that depends on employer size:

Back pay is not subject to those caps, and state-law claims may carry different limits. Check applicable state law.

Good-Faith Defense

Under 42 U.S.C. § 2000gg-2(g), damages may not be awarded on a failure-to-accommodate claim if the employer demonstrates good-faith efforts, in consultation with the employee, to identify and make a reasonable accommodation. The employer bears the burden, and the defense does not apply to retaliation, forced leave, or the other prohibitions. This is the practical value of a documented interactive process.

The statute does not set a schedule of fines, and nothing in it addresses the tax status of benefit plans. Exposure comes from the remedies above, defense costs, and whatever a state law adds.

Keeping the Checklist Current

Reassess when the EEOC publishes a proposed or final rule, when the Fifth Circuit rules, when a state where you operate changes its law, and at least annually. The PWFA checklist page is a shorter reference. For teams that want to work through cases where the PWFA overlaps with the ADA, FMLA, workers' compensation, and state laws, the Leave and Accommodation Management seminar covers medical inquiries, the interactive process, documentation, confidentiality, and retaliation risk through scenarios.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Bottom Line

A PWFA compliance checklist is only useful if it is run against real files. Confirm that the policy matches the statute, forms and documentation practices match the regulation as it stands, supervisors pass requests on the same day and never decide denials, and nothing happens to pay, hours, or ratings after a request without a documented, unrelated reason. Then date the review, because the regulatory half of this list is likely to move.

For the wider framework, see the Leave and Accommodation Management Guide, and consider the Leave and Accommodation Management seminar for the people who make these decisions. This article is general education, not legal advice.