FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New York Civil Rights Lawyer Eric Sanders, Esq., of The Sanders Firm, P.C., Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams and New York City Council Member Robert E. Cornegy, Jr., join together to push for new legislative changes and an audit of NYPD facilities to ensure compliance with federal, state and local laws regarding a nursing mother’s right to express milk during work hours

NEW YORK, January 2, 2020 – Today, after a class-action lawsuit filed by NYPD ‘Nursing Mothers,’ New York Civil Rights Lawyer Eric Sanders, Esq., Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, New York City Council Member Robert E. Cornegy, Jr., along with named plaintiffs’ Simone Teagle and Viviana Ayende, and advocacy groups, join together to push for new legislative changes to ensure that lactation rooms are safe and sanitary, and for New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer to conduct a comprehensive audit of NYPD facilities to ensure compliance with federal, state and laws regarding a nursing mother’s right to express milk during work hours.

“The disturbing allegations in this lawsuit show that our City is failing working mothers. We cannot claim we are leading on gender equality when women cannot safely pump breast milk without facing ridicule or dangerous conditions. I urge the City Council to expeditiously pass Intro 1662, which would ensure lactation rooms are safe and sanitary for working mothers in the NYPD and throughout the city. I also call on the Comptroller’s office to conduct a comprehensive audit of this issue so we can understand the full extent of the challenges faced by working mothers in New York’s Finest. The boys club culture in our law enforcement must change to embrace and support mothers who are trying to balance the demands of work and family,” said Adams.

“I would like to commend the courage of the named plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit against the NYPD seeking redress for the agency’s failure to comply with various laws that aim to support new and breastfeeding mothers,” said Cornegy. “This policy fight, which I and colleagues have been in front of, is not just a fight for the equality of women in our society, and our workforce, but a fight to embrace family values and make our government more family-friendly. I call on the NYPD to come into compliance with all laws requiring lactation accommodations, and on City Council to bring Intro 1662-2019 to a hearing, and to get it passed as soon as possible.”

“With the assistance of the Borough President and other advocates in this space, we intend to ensure the NYPD complies with law and stops treating nursing mothers as second-class citizens. It’s time we provided decent conditions for women who need to express breast milk while on the job,” said Sanders.

Legislation sponsored by Council Member Cornegy and introduced at the request of Borough President Adams, Intro 1662, would require the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to provide mandatory annual training to staff at locations required to make lactation rooms available. It would also require DOHMH to inspect the lactation rooms at least quarterly for cleanliness, safety, and accessibility.

The federal civil rights lawsuit was filed on December 23, 2019, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Docket No.: 19 cv 7211.

ABOUT THE SANDERS FIRM, P.C.

The Sanders Firm, P.C. offers those in the New York City area legal services related and connected to civil rights, civil service rights, criminal law and discrimination. We firmly believe in everyone’s individual rights that are described and guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States of America. We understand that our freedoms and liberties are sacrosanct and that they have been won in many and various hard-fought battles. We are committed in every way to protecting your civil rights.

CONTACT

Eric Sanders, Esq.
President and Owner, The Sanders Firm, P.C.
Business Phone: 212-652-2782