PWFA Back in Effect in Texas

Author: Emily Scace, Brightmine Senior Legal Editor

August 22, 2025

Overturning a federal district court, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has held that the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) was constitutionally enacted and may be enforced against the state of Texas.

The PWFA, which took effect in 2023, requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations for employees' known limitations based on pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions.

When the law passed in 2022, a number of members of Congress voted by proxy due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Texas filed suit, contending that because an insufficient number of members of the US House of Representatives were physically present to constitute a quorum, the PWFA was unconstitutionally enacted. The US District Court for the Northern District of Texas agreed and granted an injunction blocking the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) from enforcing the law against the state of Texas in its capacity as an employer.

Upon appeal, the 5th Circuit reversed, holding that the Quorum Clause of the Constitution does not require physical presence and lifting the district court's injunction. As a result, the EEOC may now enforce the PWFA against the state of Texas.

However, one of the more controversial pieces of the law remains blocked nationwide. In May, a federal district court vacated PWFA regulations to the extent that they require accommodation for "purely elective" abortions that are not necessary to treat a medical condition related to pregnancy.