Asking A Breast-Feeding Woman To Cover Up May Soon Be Illegal In Seattle
Back in 2008, a Houston woman, back from maternity leave, asked her boss if she could pump breast milk in the bathroom, on her breaks at work. He fired her. Last month, a judge threw out her discrimination case.
Although 45 states allow women to breast-feed infants in any public or private location, many new mothers don't always feel that's true. In Washington, for example, it's illegal to tell a woman to stop breast-feeding a child at work or in public. But many women are told to stop anyway, and find little recourse.
So Seattle City Councilman Bruce Harrell, on behalf of the Seattle Women's Commission, is trying to get Seattle to pass its own bill. If it becomes law, anyone who tells a nursing mother to button up or get out may have to pay fines in the thousands of dollars.