protect a woman from an employer dis- criminating against her or firing her for lactation and breast pumping. TMA and TPS filed the brief to sup-
port an appeal by the U.S. Equal Em- ployment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) of Judge Hughes’ decision in fa- vor of a Houston debt collection agency against the woman, Donnicia Venters. EEOC charged that Houston Funding II Ltd. fired Ms. Venters after she sought approval to pump breast milk at the of- fice. Judge Hughes ruled that even if that were true, she could not claim dis- crimination under Title VII because lac- tation is not pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition. TMA and TPS argue in their brief that
federal law protects lactation because it is one of several medical conditions re- lated to pregnancy that require care after childbirth. “Since the yielding of milk by mammary glands is a medical condition caused by pregnancy and childbirth, lac- tation is a ‘related medical condition’ as contemplated by Title VII,” the brief said. “Title VII protects employees from be-
ing fired ‘because of sex’ or ‘on the basis’ of sex,” it added. “Congress amended Title VII, in response to a Supreme Court case, to clarify those terms ‘include, but are not limited to, because of or on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.’ It is clear that Con- gress intends to protect women, such as Venters, from being fired based on medi- cal conditions relating to their pregnancy and/or childbirth.” The brief also says breastfeeding ben-
efits both the mother and child and that public policy demands protection for lac- tating mothers at work. Thus, TMA and TPS said, a jury should decide whether Houston Funding discriminated against Ms. Venters, or, as the company claims, it fired her for abandoning her job. n
Crystal Conde is associate editor of Texas Medicine. You can reach her by telephone at (800) 880-1300, ext. 1385, or (512) 370-1385; by fax at (512) 370-1629; or by email at
crystal.conde@
texmed.org.
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September 2012 TEXAS MEDICINE 59
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