Atlanta Employment Attorneys Blog
Employers have long used the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) as the starting point when an employee requests extended medical leave. A new lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Florida highlights an increasingly important limitation on that approach: when pregnancy or childbirth is involved, an employee who is not eligible for FMLA leave may nevertheless be entitled to leave under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”).
On September 30, 2026, the EEOC announced a lawsuit against Call 4 Health, a medical call center in Delray Beach, Florida. The action, EEOC v. Call 4 Health, Inc., No. 9:26-cv-81333, was filed in the Southern District of Florida, within the Eleventh Circuit. The allegations have not yet been adjudicated. EEOC
What Happened?
According to the EEOC, multiple pregnant employees requested leave for childbirth during 2023 and 2024. The agency alleges that Call 4 Health denied those requests because the employees did not qualify for leave under the FMLA and instead required them to resign and reapply for their jobs after receiving medical clearance to return. The EEOC alleges that this practice ultimately resulted in the employees’ terminations. EEOC
The EEOC’s central allegation is straightforward: the employer allegedly stopped its analysis after determining that the employees were ineligible for FMLA leave rather than separately considering whether leave was required as a reasonable accommodation under the PWFA. EEOC
The case is significant because the PWFA creates an accommodation framework separate from the FMLA. The PWFA generally applies to employers with at least 15 employees and requires reasonable accommodation of a qualified employee’s known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions unless the accommodation would impose an undue hardship. EEOC
FMLA and PWFA Leave Are Different Questions
The distinction matters.
FMLA eligibility depends on statutory requirements involving matters such as the employee’s tenure, hours worked, employer coverage, and worksite. An employee who fails those requirements may have no entitlement to FMLA leave.
But that does not necessarily answer the PWFA question.
The EEOC’s PWFA guidance specifically identifies “[l]eave to recover from childbirth or other medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth” as a potential reasonable accommodation. The agency further states that leave may constitute a reasonable accommodation unless providing it would create an undue hardship. EEOC
That means an employer receiving a pregnancy-related leave request may need to conduct two separate analyses:
First: Is the employee entitled to job-protected FMLA leave?
Second: Regardless of the FMLA answer, does the PWFA require leave or another reasonable accommodation?
The second question is particularly important for recently hired employees who have not yet accumulated enough service or hours to qualify for FMLA leave.
Why It Matters
The case illustrates a broader change in pregnancy-accommodation law following the PWFA’s June 27, 2023 effective date. The statute’s protection is not limited to pregnancy-related conditions that constitute disabilities under the ADA, either. A PWFA “limitation” may be minor or modest, and the EEOC identifies uncomplicated pregnancy, vaginal and cesarean deliveries, miscarriage, postpartum depression, and lactation among conditions potentially covered by the statute. EEOC
Employers should therefore be careful about treating “not FMLA eligible” as the end of the leave analysis.
Practical Takeaways
- Do not automatically terminate the leave analysis when FMLA does not apply. Pregnancy- or childbirth-related leave may independently qualify as a PWFA accommodation.
- Build a PWFA review into FMLA denial procedures. When HR determines that a pregnancy-related absence is not FMLA protected, the file should be evaluated separately under the PWFA—and potentially the ADA and applicable state law.
- Be cautious with resignation-and-reapply policies. Requiring an employee to resign rather than evaluating a temporary leave request may create substantial risk if reasonable leave could have been provided without undue hardship.
- Engage in the interactive process. Once an employer knows that an employee needs a workplace change because of pregnancy, childbirth, or a related condition, EEOC guidance directs the employer to communicate with the employee about the limitation and potential accommodation and to respond promptly. EEOC
- Train HR and supervisors on overlapping leave laws. FMLA, PWFA, ADA, Title VII, and employer leave policies can apply simultaneously or independently. A “no” under one statute does not necessarily mean “no” under the others.
For Georgia employers, employees, and employment counsel, Call 4 Health is particularly worth watching because it is being litigated within the Eleventh Circuit. Although the lawsuit currently presents only the EEOC’s allegations—not a judicial holding—it provides a clear warning about an issue likely to generate increasing litigation as PWFA case law develops.