['Wage and Hour', 'Discrimination']
['Pregnancy Discrimination', 'Breaks and Meal Periods', 'Title VII (The Civil Rights Act of 1964)']
05/16/2022
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Decision: Firing a woman because she is lactating or expressing breast milk is unlawful sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (as amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978).
The ruling in this case overturned a federal trial court's decision from the Southern District of Texas, which denied the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) discrimination lawsuit.
The appeal arose from a lawsuit filed by the EEOC on behalf of a woman who claimed that she was fired after she inquired as to whether she would be able to pump breast milk when she returned to her job from giving birth. The EEOC sued, alleging that the employer engaged in sex discrimination.
The district court dismissed the lawsuit. Following that decision, the EEOC appealed to the Fifth Circuit.
In its decision, the lower court ruled that "lactation is not pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition," and thus decided that "firing someone because of lactation or breast-pumping is not sex discrimination." The district court suggested that "pregnancy-related conditions" ended on the day that a mother gives birth.
In examining and overturning the lower court's ruling, the Fifth Circuit addressed the question "whether discharging a female employee because she is lactating or expressing breast milk constitutes sex discrimination in violation of Title VII." The appeals court found that it does.
The Fifth Circuit noted the biological fact that lactation is a physiological condition distinct to women who have undergone a pregnancy. Accordingly, under Title VII and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, firing a woman because she is lactating or expressing milk is unlawful sex discrimination, since men as a matter of biology could not be fired for such a reason. The case was remanded back to the lower court for a trial on the merits.
The Fifth Circuit includes the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.
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['Wage and Hour', 'Discrimination']
['Pregnancy Discrimination', 'Breaks and Meal Periods', 'Title VII (The Civil Rights Act of 1964)']
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Copyright 2025 J. J. Keller & Associate, Inc. For re-use options please contact copyright@jjkeller.com or call 800-558-5011.