As organizations committed to promoting the health and economic security of our nation’s families, we urge you to support the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (H.R. 2654/ S. 1512). This legislation promotes healthy pregnancies and economic security for pregnant women and their families and strengthens the economy.

In the last few decades, there has been a dramatic demographic shift in the workforce. Not only do women now make up almost half of the workforce, but there are more pregnant workers than ever before and they are working later into their pregnancies. The simple reality is that some of these women—especially those in physically demanding jobs—will have a medical need for a temporary job-related accommodation in order to maintain a healthy pregnancy. Yet, too often, instead of providing a pregnant worker with an accommodation routinely given to other workers, her employer will fire her, depriving her of a paycheck and health insurance at a time when she needs them most. American families and the American economy depend on women’s income: we can’t afford to force pregnant women out of work.

In Young v. United Parcel Service, the Supreme Court recently held that a failure to make accommodations for pregnant workers with medical needs could violate the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 (PDA). This decision, which reaffirmed the purpose of the PDA, is an important victory for pregnant workers and will ensure that fewer women will be forced out of their jobs unnecessarily and denied the minor modifications to job duties, rules or policies that would enable them to continue working.