Hickenlooper, Senators Press Head of Employment Protections Commission on Attacks on Workers Undergoing IVF

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper and 14 of his Senate colleagues sent a letter to the Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to demand answers about the Commission's efforts to weaken a rule affirming employment protections for workers undergoing fertility treatments.

"[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," wrote 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.

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.

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

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 One Big Beautiful Bill, which will kick 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… 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 senators concluded.

Hickenlooper and his family have personal experiences with IVF. Hickenlooper and his wife Robin welcomed their son Jack, born through IVF, in December 2022. Since the repeal of Roe v. Wade and with extreme Republicans targeting Americans' access to IVF, Hickenlooper and 28 of his Senate colleagues introduced the Protect IVF Act to establish nationwide access to IVF and prevent state-level efforts to block access to IVF treatment.

For full text of the letter, click HERE.

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