Warren, Duckworth, Schumer Lead Senators in Pressing Head of Employment Protections Commission on Attacks on Workers Undergoing IVF

Warren, Duckworth, Schumer Lead Senators in Pressing Head of Employment Protections Commission on Attacks on Workers Undergoing IVF

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) led 12 senators in pressing the Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on the Commission's efforts to weaken a rule affirming employment protections for workers undergoing fertility treatments.

Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) also joined in signing the letter.

"[Removing workers undergoing IVF from the rule would] mak[e] it more likely that employers could deny accommodations to workers undergoing fertility treatment-or force them to work in conditions that could undermine their health or their treatment's success. We write to request that you abandon your efforts to weaken this rule," said the lawmakers.

Fertility treatments are intensive medical processes that have serious impacts on women's lives. In vitro fertilization (IVF) involves several daily needle injections, which can cause side effects like nausea, vomiting, bloating, and fatigue. The fertility procedures themselves do not allow for flexible scheduling and can require intravenous sedation.

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), passed in 2022, requires employers to grant employees reasonable accommodations including short breaks to take medication, a schedule that accommodates daily monitoring appointments and medical procedures, and more. In 2024, the EEOC set forth PWFA regulations explicitly affirming that these protections apply to workers undergoing IVF treatments.

During the finalization of PWFA regulations, Andrea Lucas - then a Commissioner and now Chair of the EEOC - objected to extending these accommodations to workers undergoing fertility treatments. After President Trump appointed her as Acting Chair, Lucas announced the EEOC would be "reconsidering" the PWFA regulations to cut those workers out.

"Removing them from this rule does not change the fact that these workers are owed these protections, but it does make it more likely that employers will illegally deny women undergoing IVF their rights under PWFA," wrote the senators.

Chair Lucas also appears to be attempting to make the decision-making process more secretive, rescinding the Commission's voting procedures and placing all decisions to call public meetings and schedule Commission votes in her sole discretion.

"You should not make major decisions affecting the agency and the American people behind closed doors and without input from the public," wrote the senators.

During his 2024 campaign, President Trump repeatedly claimed he was a supporter of fertility treatment, calling himself the "father of IVF" and even going as far as to promise that he would make fertilization treatments free.

Yet, President Trump's Executive Order aiming to expand access to IVF, the implementation of which the senators describe as "weak," "fail[s] to address the larger expense of IVF cycles." In particular, President Trump's attempt to get drug manufacturers to lower prices for IVF drugs only applies to a "narrow subset of drugs within the broader IVF regimen," leaving patients on the hook for the costs of other medications used, embryo storage, and embryo transfers. President Trump and Congressional Republicans also made massive cuts to health care through their Big, Beautiful Bill, which could end up kicking millions of people off their health insurance.

"[This dashes] the hopes of would-be parents who can no longer afford even the most basic of health care, let alone expensive fertility treatments," said the senators.

"The people who will be affected by your rewriting of the regulations deserve to know more about your intentions and your process…We ask that you halt any further efforts to weaken EEOC rules that protect workers undergoing fertility treatments," the lawmakers concluded.

The senators asked Chair Lucas to provide clarity on her attacks on workers undergoing fertility treatments by May 13, 2026.

Senator Warren has led the fight to protect women's reproductive rights:

• In March 2026, Senators Warren (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) led 23 colleagues in publishing a new report revealing that, in addition to acting as a backdoor abortion ban, the "defund" provision in Republicans Big, Beautiful Bill has ripped away Americans' access to essential services - including primary care, birth control, cancer screenings, and wellness exams - and raised health care costs.
• In October 2025, Senator Warren slammed President Trump's new IVF "plan" as "insulting" and a "broken promise() to American families."
• In February 2025, Senators Warren (D-Mass.) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) pressed Dr. Mehmet Oz, President Trump's then-nominee for the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, on his hostile anti-abortion record.
• In February 2025, Senator Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.) reintroduced the Stop Anti-Abortion Disinformation (SAD) Act, to crack down on attempts by crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) to deceive and misinform women seeking reproductive health care.
• In December 2024, Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) reintroduced the Health and Location Data Protection Act, legislation banning data brokers from selling Americans' sensitive personal information. Data gathered by brokers has been used to circumvent the Fourth Amendment, out LGBTQ+ Americans, and stalk and harass individuals. Some brokers have been caught selling the cellphone-based location data of people visiting abortion clinics, risking the safety and security of women seeking basic health care.
• In September 2024, at a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee, Senator Elizabeth Warren highlighted the dangerous consequences women have faced two years after Donald Trump's Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Senator Warren recounted recent tragedies in states with abortion bans and warned that doctors' ability to perform life-saving care in emergency situations is under attack.
• In June 2024, following the Supreme Court's decision in Moyle v. U.S., the case that weighed the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), Senator Elizabeth Warren released a statement criticizing the Supreme Court's decision to "wait until after the election to tell Americans whether women who are in crisis can get the emergency medical care they need."
• In March 2024, following oral arguments in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, the first abortion case the Supreme Court had taken up since the reversal of Roe v. Wade, Senator Elizabeth Warren released a statement reiterating her call for "restor(ing) the protections of Roe v. Wade and protect reproductive freedom for all."
• On March 4, 2024, Senators Warren, Duckworth (D-Ill.), and 46 Democratic colleagues introduced a bill to protect IVF access nationwide.
• On February 28, 2024, Senator Warren delivered a floor speech on Senate Republicans' opposition to Senator Tammy Duckworth's (D-Ill.) bill to ensure families have access to the services they need to have a baby, including protections for IVF.
• On January 22, 2024, the 51st Anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Senator Warren delivered a floor speech and published an op-ed about the fight ahead to restore abortion rights and protect reproductive freedom.

###