Emerging Protections for Nursing Mothers in the Workplace

Working parents, especially women, face unique challenges balancing work and childcare. In recent years, courts have made important decisions to protect nursing mothers in the workplace. In 2013, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that discrimination against lactating mothers is a form of pregnancy and sex discrimination. In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court also allowed women with pregnancy-related medical conditions to pursue legal action against their employers. Additionally, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) stated that lactation is protected under the law. These rulings have been important in advancing the rights of working and nursing mothers. A woman named Donnicia Venters asked her boss if she could pump breast milk at work and was fired. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued the employer for discrimination, saying it was because she was a woman and had just had a baby. The court said the employer was wrong to fire her because of breastfeeding and reversed the decision. The Fifth Circuit court ruled that discrimination against women who need to express breast milk at work is against the law. This was a win for a woman named Venters and for other women in similar situations. However, one judge disagreed and said that employers don’t have to provide special accommodations for women who need to express breast milk at work. But the U.S. Supreme Court later settled this issue in 2015. Peggy Young worked part-time for UPS as a driver. When she got pregnant, her doctor said she shouldn’t lift heavy things. UPS wouldn’t let her work with this restriction, so she had to take time off and lost her health insurance. She sued UPS for breaking the law, but the court said UPS did nothing wrong. The Supreme Court clarified that a pregnant woman can claim discrimination under Title VII and the PDA if she can show that she asked for accommodation, the employer didn’t give it, and the employer did accommodate others in similar situations. If the employer gives a reason for not accommodating, the woman can show it’s not true. This applies to lactating mothers too. In 2015, the EEOC said that breastfeeding is protected by the law. This means that employers have to give nursing moms the same flexibility as they would for other medical needs. For example, if they let employees change their schedules for doctor appointments, they have to do the same for breastfeeding moms. In simple terms, it is against the law for employers to treat breastfeeding mothers unfairly at work. Lactating women have the right to take breaks to express milk, and employers must provide a safe and clean place for them to do so. This is protected under the law, and if employers don’t follow these rules, they can get in trouble. The Affordable Care Act requires employers to give new mothers break time to pump breast milk and a private place to do it, away from coworkers. However, if employers fail to do this, there may not be a way for mothers to get compensation. But if employers retaliate against mothers for complaining about this, they can still be sued. This happened in a case where a new mother was told she could only pump in a bathroom or in a room where others could hear her. When she complained, she was not given work shifts and was eventually fired. She sued her employer for not following the law and for retaliating against her. A court allowed a working mother to proceed with a lawsuit against her employer for not providing proper facilities for her to express breast milk. The court also allowed her to move forward with a claim of discrimination and a hostile work environment. In Florida, there are state laws that protect breastfeeding mothers, including the Florida Civil Rights Act, which prohibits pregnancy discrimination, and a breastfeeding statute that allows mothers to breastfeed in any location. In summary, there are now laws in place to protect nursing mothers in the workplace. If a mother faces discrimination for breastfeeding at work, she has legal options to pursue. Employers should consider making accommodations, like providing break times and a clean place to express milk, to support working mothers. This will help them balance work and caring for their children. There are legal cases that support these rights, and government guidelines also provide information on this issue. This is about a case where a woman who was breastfeeding her baby sued her employer for not giving her enough breaks to pump breast milk. The court said that the employer should have given her more breaks, and that it was against the law for them not to. The law says that employers have to give breastfeeding moms reasonable breaks to pump milk. The court also said that it’s illegal to discriminate against someone because they are breastfeeding. This is a law in Florida that gives remedies to private sector employees who report a law, rule, or regulation being broken at work.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/emerging-protections-for-nursing-mothers-in-the-workplace/