(The Center Square) – Washington Attorney General Nick Brown is suing Washington’s largest school district – Seattle Public Schools – alleging the district failed to provide legally required accommodations to pregnant and nursing employees.
The lawsuit – filed in the King County Superior Court – seeks to remedy Seattle Public Schools’ practices of refusing to provide statutorily mandated reasonable pregnancy accommodations for its employees, which the complaint deems unfair and discriminatory.
Brown’s office finds that the school district’s practices violate the state Healthy Starts Act and the Washington Law Against Discrimination, which requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations related to pregnant and nursing employees.
Flagged practices include a lack of flexible restroom breaks, the inability to express breast milk for their newborn babies in clean and private locations, providing misleading information regarding maternity leave and retaliating against employees who requested pregnancy-related accommodations.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, Seattle Public Schools retaliated against employees by giving negative performance reviews to employees who requested accommodations, reprimanding employees for having doctors’ appointments and removing employees from preferred classroom assignments.
The office also noted employees were wrongfully left unpaid or without benefits during or immediately after their pregnancies.
“These employees suffered mentally, physically, and financially because of the school district’s actions,” Brown said in a statement on Tuesday. “The Legislature has been clear that employers must accommodate the health needs of their pregnant and nursing workers, which is why Washington has laws banning employers from doing what Seattle Public Schools did to its employees.”
According to Brown’s office, the district has maintained these policies and practices since 2021.
The lawsuit noted employees were left in pain with clogged ducts and serious health issues like mastitis and difficult breastfeeding as a result of policies that led to employees missing pumping breaks.
One employee said they felt forced to take leave to continue breastfeeding.
Brown’s office said it previously approached Seattle Public Schools about these concerns and sought to resolve the matter, but those discussions were unsuccessful.
Seattle Public Schools told The Center Square that it takes these issues seriously and “remains firmly committed to a welcoming workplace that upholds the civil rights of all employees.”
“While the district has not been formally served a copy of the Washington state Attorney General’s Office complaint, SPS will carefully review and respond to the allegations,” a district spokesperson told The Center Square in an email.
