The purpose of this paper was to review state and federal court cases in order to assess the current status of judicial opinion regarding breast-feeding accommodations that may be required in the workplace. It was surprising to find that laws such as the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and Civil Rights Act were not interpreted by the various courts to mandate that employers provide special accommodations for mothers in the workforce that were breast-feeding. As a result, various states have designed legislation fill the void left by the courts. Some of these laws are also discussed in this paper.

"...[F]ew would deny that the problems facing women who wish to bear children while pursuing challenging careers at the same time remain substantial"1

The purpose of this paper is to review state and federal court cases to determine the current status of the law regarding breast-feeding accommodations that may be required in the workplace. For example, is breast-feeding considered a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act? If an employer refuses to grant, or extend, leaves of absence, is it guilty of disparate treatment and/or disparate impact? Is such a leave protected by the Family Medical Leave Act? If an employer fails to provide a private place, or extend break time, for a lactating employee using a breast pump, is it a violation of the Pregnancy Discrimination Act? These and other issues are considered in this paper.
Currently, there are five states that have statutes expressly dealing with breast-feeding practices in the workplace. These laws are also reviewed.

Breast-Feeding Issues in the Courts

A review of state and federal cases reveals that there is little in the law to support an employee's right to either nurse their babies during working hours or to set aside time for the expression of milk. Nevertheless, there was an absence of total uniformity in the various courts' reasoning.

Dike v. School Board of Orange County, Florida2

Janice Dike, a schoolteacher, brought an action in federal court challenging the school's refusal to permit her to breast-feed her child during her duty-free lunch period, in privacy, without disruption of school activities. Her husband or babysitter would bring the child to school. However, the principal directed Dike to stop this practice due to a rule prohibiting teachers from bringing their children to work with them for any reason.