Amending the NYC Human Rights Law to Explicitly Add Nursing Mothers’ Right to Workplace Accommodations

SUMMARY

The Sex and Law Committee and Civil Rights Committee recommend amending the New York City Human Rights Law, Administrative Code of the City of New York §§ 8-101 et seq. (“NYC HRL”), to explicitly require workplace accommodations for nursing mothers. Currently, nothing in the NYC HRL explicitly states that nursing mothers cannot be discriminated against or must be reasonably accommodated in the workplace.  In addition, although protections already exist at both the state and federal level, courts have questioned whether private litigants can bring lawsuits to enforce their right to breastfeeding-related workplace accommodations. The proposed bill would confirm the enforceability of these protections in a simple and straightforward way that builds upon the recently enacted New York City Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“NYC PWFA”). The proposed bill would also make explicit some aspects of the scope of the anti-discrimination and accommodation mandates of the NYC HRL, which currently do not expressly protect nursing mothers.