On April 15, 2025, the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota issued its decision granting partial summary judgment to the Catholic Benefits Association, on behalf of its members and the Bismarck Diocese (collectively the CBA). The court found that the portions of the PWFA Final Regulations that require employers to reasonably

Tara K. Burke
Tara K. Burke is the knowledge management (“KM”) attorney for Jackson Lewis P.C.’s Disability, Leave & Health Management practice group, and is based in the Cincinnati, Ohio, office of Jackson Lewis P.C. She works with employers to build positive and inclusive workplaces and reduce legal risk through policy development, training, and employment law counseling.
Tara provides practical and legal advice to clients on employment law issues including harassment and discrimination prevention, diversity and inclusion, hiring and interviewing, internal investigations, disability accommodation and leave management, reductions in force, individual separations and employee relations issues. Tara works with clients, including multi-state employers, to identify the trends in workplace law and stay in compliance with the rapidly changing state-by-state legal landscape. Tara helps clients of all sizes and in all industries, create, revise and implement workplace policies and procedures including employee handbooks. She also routinely conducts workplace training for leadership, human resources, managers and employees on numerous topics including strong management practices that reduce legal risk and build effective teams, preventing sexual harassment by supporting respectful and positive workplaces, achieving winning results through diversity and inclusion, conducting investigations, and employee accommodations and leaves of absence.
Tara has defended employers in employment-related litigation and administrative proceedings.
In addition to working with for-profit clients, Tara also works with non-profit clients, including small non-profits, to provide employment law expertise to non-profit organizations supporting our communities across the country.
DOJ Withdraws 11 Pieces of Americans With Disabilities Act Title III Guidance: What Covered Businesses Need to Know
The Department of Justice (DOJ) withdrew 11 documents providing guidance to businesses on compliance with Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (Title III). The DOJ Guidance sets forth how the agency interprets certain issues addressed by Title III of the ADA. Although the guidance has been withdrawn, the law remains the same. Title…
Scope of Accommodations Required Under PWFA Narrowed in Louisiana and Mississippi
On the eve of the effective date of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC’s) final Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) regulations (Final Rule), a federal court in Louisiana postponed the effective date of what the court describes as the “Final Rule’s requirement that covered entities provide accommodation for the elective abortions of employees that are…
EEOC Issues Final Regulations to Implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued final regulations and Interpretative Guidance to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). The PWFA went into effect on June 27, 2023. The PWFA requires that employers with at least 15 employees provide reasonable accommodations, absent undue hardship, to qualified employees and applicants with known limitations related…
What Employers Should Know About the Latest CDC COVID-19 Guidance
It has been almost exactly four years since the COVID-19 pandemic changed the American working landscape. Many of us followed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through multiple changes and guidance, including from no mask, to mask, to no mask. On March 1, 2024, the CDC changed the isolation guidance for those with…
Congress Violated U.S. Constitution When It Passed Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, Texas Court Rules
Congress improperly passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, including the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), a federal court in Texas has ruled. State of Texas v. Department of Justice et al., No. 5:23-cv-00034 (N.D. Tex. Feb. 27, 2024). The court permanently enjoined the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Department of Justice from…
When Will the Ball Drop? Still Waiting on the PWFA Final Regulations
We rang in the new year waiting and watching for the issuance of the EEOC’s final regulations implementing the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) received the text of the final regulations for review on December 27. Assuming that the EEOC’s final regulations clear this review, we expect…
The New Year Brings New Leave Laws
Get ready to ring in the new year with new and expanded employer leave obligations. Chicago’s new Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance will take effect on December 31, 2023 and the following laws go into effect on January 1, 2024.
EEOC’s Proposed Pregnant Workers Fairness Act Regulations: Oh Mama!
On August 11, 2023, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) formally published proposed regulations to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). In a matter of just under 9 months, since the law was enacted at the end of 2022, the EEOC crafted 275+ pages worth of regulations, preamble and interpretive guidance to…
The ADA and Visual Disabilities in the Workplace
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued new technical assistance document (“TAD”), “Visual Disabilities in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities Act,” addressing how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to job applicants and employees with visual disabilities. Like the technical assistance the EEOC published earlier this year on hearing disabilities…