Christian Group Need Not Follow EEOC Pregnancy Rules, Judge Says

A Missouri federal court has temporarily blocked the EEOC from requiring a Christian education group to comply with a key pregnancy bias law that would compel employers to accommodate workers’ abortion related requests.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission likely did not have authority to enforce the requirements in its final Pregnant Workers Fairness Act rules on the Stanley M. Herzog Foundation, Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark said in granting the organization a preliminary injunction on Tuesday.

Ketchmark’s order adds to the growing list of conflicting rulings over challenges to the EEOC’s inclusion of abortion in the final rules. The regulations that count abortion as a “related medical condition” tied to pregnancy drew ire from red states and religious groups when finalized in April 2024.

The foundation demonstrated a likelihood of success on merits of its claims that the rule violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, but the court didn’t reach a decision on the group’s First Amendment and Administrative Procedure Act claims, Ketchmark said.

The PWFA passed with bipartisan support in 2022 without explicit mention of abortion in the statute. The EEOC’s rules require companies to make reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers, as well as those who choose to have or not have an abortion.

Acting EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas, a Republican, voted against the rules the commission approved in April. Lucas has not yet taken action to change the PWFA rules but she issued a statement in February indicating she would hold a vote to reconsider parts of the rules. The EEOC lacks a quorum to hold a vote on any changes to the rules after President Donald Trump fired two Democratic commissioners.

‘Credible Threat’

In part, Ketchmark’s ruling notes Lucas’s inability to “disavow enforcement or act to change” the rules at this time despite the acting chair’s indication of intent to revisit them.

“In light of the particular facts and circumstances in this case, the Court concludes that a credible threat of enforcement remains, and the Foundation has established an injury-in-fact on this basis, as well,” Ketchmark said.

Attorneys for the Department of Justice, which is representing the EEOC in the case, requested a stay on proceedings Feb. 3 pending the court’s decision on the preliminary injunction, since the change in administration and makeup of the commission “may have implications for this litigation.” Ketchmark denied that request.

The foundation asked the court to deny the motion since “such changes are, at best, speculative and unlikely to be resolved in a matter of weeks.”

It argues the agency lacked the authority under the PWFA to put the abortion-related rules in place.

The group is represented by Graves Garrett Greim.

The EEOC is represented by the Department of Justice, which did not immediately respond to request for comment on Tuesday.

The case is The Stanley M. Herzog Foundation v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, W.D. Mo., 4:24-cv-00651, preliminary injunction granted 3/18/25