A Victory for Workers, a Victory for Families

By Mie Lewis, Staff Attorney for the ACLU Women’s Rights Project This week, an Ohio federal jury awarded Christa Dias $171,000 after she was fired from her part-time teaching jobs at two religious schools. Dias had alleged that she was fired for becoming pregnant while unmarried. In response, the schools and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati had claimed that her use of artificial insemination violated Catholic religious tenets and was a valid reason for firing her. In its verdict, the jury specifically found that Dias was the victim of pregnancy discrimination. The verdict is an important victory...

Breastfeeding IS a Civil Right!

Being a new mother is not easy and getting breastfeeding off to a good start is a small – no, make that a HUGE miracle! Add the stress of losing your job because you tried to give your baby the best start in life? I can’t even imagine it. Breastfeeding became a protected Civil Right in California last year when Gov. Brown signed AB 2386, which amended our Fair Employment and Housing Act , to include a woman’s breastfeeding status. However, for years women in the US have been at risk of losing their job, because of a series of Federal Cases, in which the old patriarchy selectively sided with...

What to Give a Working Mother for Mother’s Day

After a long week at work, and the weekend filled with two soccer games, a dance recital and a birthday party, I’ll drive 75 minutes to visit my mother this Mother’s Day. There’s no time for breakfast in bed, a manicure/pedicure with friends or dinner and a movie. That’s okay; that’s not what this working mother wanted for Mother’s Day anyway. You know what I do want for all working mothers? I want: Paid Sick Leave. Almost half (48 percent) of private-sector workers do not have paid sick days. As a working mother, it’s common sense that occasionally you’ll need time to care for yourself or...

Single Mothers, Double Standard

A lot of press about single mothers seemed to surface recently. I’m not sure why. It’s on my radio (NPR, Tell Me More ) and in my morning paper ( The Difference Between Feeling Like a Single Mom and Being One , WashPost, 4/18,2013). Whatever it used to mean, as an identifier “single mother” it is not very helpful now. As almost half of all births now occur to unmarried women, and most of them in their 20′s at the age of first birth, it isn’t shorthand for teen mother or one with minimal education. Single mothers may have been married at the time of birth, widowed, divorced or separated. They...