An Arkansas judge put a stop to a court challenge over workplace abortion accommodations on Friday. U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. said plaintiffs in a lawsuit over new protections for employees seeking abortions did not have standing, meaning they did not establish that the protections for workers would actually cause them harm.

In 2022, The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act was passed with bipartisan support in Congress. The law required employers to accommodate pregnancy and childbirth-related medical conditions. On April 19, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission expanded the law to include accommodations that come from seeking an abortion. They passed the rule change by a vote of 3-2. The new rules will go into effect on Tuesday.

In April, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin announced his plan to bring a lawsuit against the law's expansion.

Arkansas judge tosses lawsuit over worker abortion accommodations

*Michael Hibblen/Little Rock Public Radio*
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit say expansions to the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act would cause them harm; the judge disagreed.

KUAR | By Sonny Albarado / Arkansas Advocate

The attorneys general of Arkansas and Tennessee filed a federal lawsuit Thursday seeking to halt enforcement of a new federal rule that requires employers to accommodate pregnant workers who want or need an abortion.

The rule, finalized last week by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, extends the 2022 Pregnant Workers Fairness Act’s definition of workplace accommodation to include abortion.

The lawtook effect in June 2023, and requires employers to accommodate “known limitations” connected with “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.” But proposed rules that included abortion in the law’s definition of “related medical conditions” generated significant opposition.

Arkansas, Tennessee file suit over federal pregnant-worker protections rule