This story was originally published by The 19th.
Last June, a new federal law granted pregnant people across the country additional protections in their workplaces. But as of Wednesday, those protections have now ended for government workers in the state of Texas.
A federal judge in Texas ruled last week that the legislation, known as the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, cannot be enforced in the state because it was passed as part of a spending package that was voted on without a majority of members of Congress present. The bill was passed in December 2022 with 205 members of the House casting votes in person; the rest of the votes were cast on behalf of absent members, known as voting by proxy.
The House needs 218 members present to reach quorum as defined in the Constitution. Judge James Hendrix from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas ruled that Congress didn’t reach a quorum for that vote, meaning the law cannot be enforced in Texas. The block applies to workers employed by the state and its agencies, not private employees or federal employees.
Advocates worry, however, that it could set a precedent that would chip away at pregnant workers’ rights in the workplace and call into question all laws passed with proxy votes. Congress passed a rule during the COVID-19 pandemic allowing members to vote by proxy to meet the quorum requirement.
The Texas decision could also come to impact other bills passed in the spending package, including the PUMP Act, which expands workplace protections for lactating parents. Both the PUMP Act and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act passed with bipartisan support.
The Department of Justice is expected to appeal the Texas court’s........