Embed Notice

Federal judge blocks employee abortion, IVF protections
at thousands of Catholic employers nationwide

The group that brought the challenge to a new federal policy argues it cannot be forced to accommodate
"immoral infertility 'treatments.'"

A federal judge in North Dakota issued an #injunction on Monday ❌blocking the🔸 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission🔸 from protecting
any employees of any members of a nationwide Catholic association
who are seeking time off or other accommodations under the #Pregnant #Workers #Fairness #Act
for an ♦️abortion or
♦️in vitro fertilization ( #IVF ) treatment.

U.S. District Judge #Daniel #Traynor, a Trump appointee to the federal court in North Dakota, issued the🔸 religion-infused preliminary injunction🔸 to partially
🆘 block enforcement of an EEOC rule implementing the 2022 law,
👉along with related implementation of Title VII of the #Civil #Rights #Act of 1964,

as to the Catholic Benefits Association and its members
— current or future
— #nationwide.

The order covers ⚠️more than 8,000 employers
— including thousands of churches
— across the country.

The #PWFA was passed in December 2022 and is supposed to protect covered workers from discrimination on the basis of “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions”
by, in part, requiring employers to provide employees with reasonable accommodations.

The EEOC proposed its implementing rule for the PWFA in August 2023,
stating in part that abortion and fertility treatment, including IVF,
are covered by the law’s protections.

That rule, which does not relate to insurance coverage, went into effect in June.

Judge Traynor concluded that the CBA is likely to succeed in its challenge to the rule and related Title VII enforcement guidance under the "Religious Freedom Restoration Act".

Any appeal would go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit,
which only has one Democratic appointee among its 11 judges.

https://www.lawdork.com/p/federal-judge-injunction-cba-pwfa-abortion-ivf