Breastfeeding Mom Told To Pump Next To Courthouse Urinal

This is absolutely disgusting. Shouldn't courthouse employees know better?

breastfeedingNo one is excited about having to go to jury duty, but perhaps the person who is least excited about it is the breastfeeding mother without any alternative childcare.

Amanda Chandler, a woman from Hennepin County, Minnesota, who is the primary caregiver of her breastfed two-year-old daughter, recently received a jury duty summons. As one can imagine, she was upset when she was told that neither her breastfeeding nor her being without an alternative childcare source would exempt her from jury duty. Not to worry, Chandler was assured, because the court would allow her to pump to express her milk during her service and reimburse her for non-licensed childcare. In fact, an excited courthouse clerk told Chandler a room that had specifically been designed for nursing mothers — complete with a locking door for privacy, a chair, and a sink — would be available for her use. She was also told that the clerks and the judge on her case would accommodate her pumping schedule.

Things went as planned for Chandler’s first day of jury duty, but after she was placed on a jury panel on her second day, things went awry. She was unable to pump at all during the morning session, and during the afternoon session, instead of being taken back to the quiet nursing room, Chandler was led to a dingy-looking unisex bathroom. She was told that she would be able to pump next to the urinal.

As a new mother who exclusively pumps and supplements with formula, I am shocked that a courthouse employee would tell a breastfeeding mother to express milk in one of the most unsanitary places imaginable. In such a setting, Chandler was liable to potentially expose her breast milk to harmful bathroom germs and bacteria that could have infected her daughter upon its ingestion. Minnesota law requires that employers provide reasonable breaks for employees who need to express breast milk, and that the private space provided must be somewhere “other than a bathroom or a toilet stall.” The law neglects to mention what is to be done for guests, but Chandler wasn’t exactly a guest — she was being paid for her jury duty service. One would have hoped that the law would be followed in a courthouse, but unfortunately, that’s not what happened.

Appropriately outraged and disgusted, Chandler shared her story on Facebook:

According to a report from TODAY, the judge on Chandler’s case was none too pleased about the Facebook post detailing her travails at the Hennepin County Courthouse:

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[The judge] summoned Chandler to her courtroom the next day, where, according to Chandler, she acknowledged Chandler’s complaint, asserted that she felt they had met Chandler’s needs and would do even more that day, and chastised Chandler for her post on social media before dismissing her from the jury panel.

A representative from Hennepin County provided this statement to KARE11, a local television station: “Through a miscommunication, which we regret, a jury panelist was not originally advised of the availability of this room. District Court strives to respect the physical and medical needs of all its jurors.”

Chandler has since filed a formal complaint, and is awaiting word from the Hennepin County Court Administrator. Chandler thinks that “[t]here shouldn’t be any question or interpretation” as to whether Minnesota’s law protecting nursing mothers should apply for jurors. “It just felt very ironic to experience this in a courthouse.”

Shown to a ‘pumping room’ in bathroom, breastfeeding mom on jury duty objects [TODAY]
Minn. mom’s nursing post goes viral [KARE11]


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Staci ZaretskyStaci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. She’d love to hear from you, so feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.