The City of New York has reached a settlement in a discrimination lawsuit filed by nursing mothers working for the NYPD. The suit, initiated by officers Simone Teagle, Elizabeth Ortiz, Melissa Soto-Germosen, and Theresa Mahon, sought to hold the department accountable for allegedly not providing clean, safe spaces to express breast milk and then reportedly retaliating against the officers when they complained, as reported by the Daily News. Each plaintiff is set to receive compensation ranging from $30,000 to $75,000, with the settlement announced on January 30. Eric Sanders, the attorney representing the officers, highlighted the resolution as a "major victory for NYPD mothers and workplace equality," adding, "No woman should have to choose between her career and her right to breast feed, and this case sends a clear message: Employers must uphold the rights and dignity of their employees."
According to a separate article by the New York Post, some of the conditions described in the lawsuit were stark, with officers allegedly forced to express milk in bodega bathrooms, the backs of cars, and even premises infested with maggots. One officer, Melissa Soto-Germosen, recounted after returning from maternity leave in 2017, she faced the decision of pumping in an NYPD women's bathroom or in unsanitary bodega bathrooms. Soto-Germosen shared, "Every time you say something, they make you feel like 'Why are you doing this? You shouldn't have a kid,'" elaborating on the alleged disapproval she felt from department higher-ups.
The lawsuit painted a disturbing picture of the obstacles faced by lactating officers, where, according to the New York Post, NYPD Officer Viviana Ayende accused a superior of refusing to accommodate her with a proper protective vest for her new breast size. In 2010, a federal law mandated that the NYPD provide "reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for 1 year after the child’s birth" and "a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers ... to express breast milk," requirements that the plaintiffs in the lawsuit asserted the department failed to meet adequately.
Following the filing of the lawsuit and the ensuing federal probe into the NYPD's treatment of breastfeeding mothers, the NYPD updated its lactation policy and began installing pumping pods to offer clean and private spaces for nursing mothers. The New York Daily News notes that these policy revisions were accompanied by a new law that took effect in November 2018, ensuring lactation rooms were provided in proximity to the officers' workspaces and that a refrigerator "suitable for breast milk storage" was available. Despite these changes, the women's experiences have underscored the challenges female officers face in balancing their maternal health and professional duties within the NYPD. The Daily News and The New York Post report that as of now, the City Law Department has confirmed the terms of the settlement, which was deemed to be "in the best interest of all parties."
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