Attorney General’s Office sues Seattle Public Schools over illegal treatment of pregnant and nursing employees

SEATTLE – The Washington state Attorney General’s Office today filed a civil rights lawsuit against Seattle Public Schools, alleging repeated failures to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant and nursing employees as required by state law.

The office’s investigation found Seattle Public Schools 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. One employee, while eight months pregnant, was unable to sit her entire workday.

These practices affected employees across various schools over several years. 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. These included negative performance reviews for employees who requested accommodations, admonishing employees for having doctors’ appointments, and removing employees from preferred classroom assignments.

In some cases, 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,” Attorney General Nick Brown said. “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.”

The practices detailed in the suit, dating back to at least 2021, violate the state Healthy Starts Act and the Washington Law Against Discrimination.

Prior to filing suit, the Attorney General’s Office approached the district about these concerns and sought to resolve the matter, but those discussions were unsuccessful.

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. Assistant Attorney General Diane Lopez, AGO Investigator Jennifer Sievert, and Paralegal Panda Halford are handling the case for the AGO.

If you have experienced pregnancy discrimination at Seattle Public Schools, we want to hear from you. Contact our Civil Rights Division by emailing seattleschoolslawsuit@atg.wa.gov or by calling 833-660-4877 and selecting Option 5. Current and former employees may also submit a complaint using the AGO’s online form.

The lawsuit can be found here.

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