OAKLAND — A class-action lawsuit accuses AC Transit of discriminating against pregnant and breastfeeding employees and says women are “laughed at” when requesting accommodations for their pregnancies.
The lawsuit, filed in Alameda County Superior Court last week, alleges that the public transit agency, which serves Alameda and Contra Costa counties, fails to meet the needs of pregnant or breastfeeding employees.
“AC Transit employees who become pregnant or who are lactating face a workplace culture in which women who want both a career and a family are laughed at for asking for too much,” the lawsuit states.
AC Transit media affairs manager Robert Lyles told this news organization that although the statements in the lawsuit are “provocative,” they’re not a confirmation of facts.
“In this light, we ask the public to withhold judgment as we work to uncover the circumstances giving rise to this issue,” Lyles said.
He said that the agency’s general counsel will appropriately respond to the pleadings in the case.
“We want our employees and our riders to know that AC Transit has a robust policy of addressing complaints – including lawsuits – thoroughly and expeditiously,” he said.
According to the suit, AC Transit refuses to provide breaks for breastfeeding mothers so they can continue to lactate and feed their babies up to a year, as required by state law. This has caused mothers to “drive engorged or dry up.”
Nikki McNaulty, a plaintiff in the lawsuit who began as a bus driver with AC Transit in 2013, had three pregnancies when she worked there. During her second pregnancy, she asked for lactation accommodations but was allegedly denied. She also claims she was forced to leave three months before medically necessary on an unpaid leave of absence during one of her pregnancies.
Pregnant employees are forced to choose between driving pregnant without reasonable accommodation or going on disability leave early, according to the suit.
When they return as breastfeeding mothers, some are forced to drive while painfully engorged and risk losing potential milk for their newborns, the lawsuit alleges. McNaulty also alleges she was retaliated against when she complained about the discriminatory treatment.
In addition, the lawsuit alleges that pregnant or breastfeeding bus operators also are exposed to carbon monoxide poisoning because of the old equipment on the field.
McNaulty contends she was five months pregnant when she began experiencing symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning such as vomiting, headaches and burning sensations from soot residue in her nose.
She said the agency’s human resources department denied her a modified work transfer until she was 36 weeks pregnant and instead told her to take disability leave. The agency blamed those symptoms on her pregnancy and not carbon monoxide poisoning, the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit claims these allegations violate the California Fair Employment and Housing Act and the Pregnancy Discrimination Leave Law. It asks for new policies, but does not list a monetary amount for damages.
Marisa Kendall contributed to this story.