Attorney General sues Seattle Public Schools for alleged illegal treatment of pregnant employees
The Washington State Attorney General's Office has filed a lawsuit against Seattle Public Schools (SPS), alleging that the district repeatedly failed to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant and nursing employees 'as required by law.'
According to the suit, SPS 'routinely failed to provide legally required accommodations to pregnant and nursing employees such as flexible restroom breaks, modified work schedules, and the ability to sit more frequently.'
KIRO 7 has reached out to the school district for comment and has yet to hear back.
The suit alleges that one employee, while eight months pregnant, was unable to sit her entire workday.
'The state's investigation revealed that Seattle Public Schools did not have a district-level policy for how to handle pregnancy accommodation requests from employees. The district also failed to provide reasonable break time to express milk, or clean and private locations for nursing employees to pump. Employees were walked in on while expressing milk, endured painful clogged ducts, and experienced infections like mastitis. One employee felt 'they had no choice but to take leave to continue breastfeeding,' according to the complaint.
The suit also alleges the school district violated state law by retaliating against employees who sought reasonable accommodations.
The practices detailed in the suit, dating back to at least 2021, allegedly violate the state Healthy Starts Act and the Washington Law Against Discrimination, according to the AG's office.
The lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court, 'seeks to halt Seattle Public Schools from engaging in its discriminatory practices and award restitution to each impacted employee,' the suit reads.
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