BREAST-FEEDING SUIT Judge OKs Wal-Mart's policy

Wal-Mart did not violate Ohio's Public Accommodation law.
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Wal-Mart's refusal to allow women to breast-feed infants in public areas of the discount chain stores does not violate an Ohio law prohibiting sex discrimination in public places, an appeals court said.
Three women filed a lawsuit in 1999 alleging that Wal-Mart interfered with their right to breast-feed their babies. According to the lawsuit, the women were told by Wal-Mart employees that they could only breast-feed their children in the stores' restrooms.
The lawsuit alleged the mothers were discriminated against in violation of the Ohio Public Accommodation law by being denied the full enjoyment and advantages of a public place. The suit also said the women were prevented from providing proper care for their children and that requiring that infants be fed in a restroom would expose them to the risks of disease and illness.
The decision
A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that a prohibition against breast-feeding in public areas could not be considered sex discrimination under law. The appeals ruling noted that no court has been willing to include rules on breast-feeding within the bounds of sex discrimination.
"We find it extremely unlikely that in the context of public accommodation ... an Ohio court would find regulation of breast-feeding to be prohibited as sex discrimination," the appeals court said.
The lawsuit, which sought unspecified damages, was filed in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court on behalf of Dana Derungs of Lebanon, Jennifer Gore of New Lebanon and Angie Baird of Trotwood.
Robert Stein, the women's Cleveland attorney, said Thursday that he would consult with his clients on whether to appeal.
"I guess this just shows that it's OK to make babies eat in restrooms," he said. "All of these women were breast-feeding discreetly and just wanted to be left alone."
Not company policy
Christi Gallagher, a spokeswoman for the Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc., said the company was pleased with the appeals court ruling. She also said the employees were not acting under any store policy.
"The company did not have a policy or practice in place that prohibited breast-feeding in our stores," she said.
The case, which was moved from state court to U.S. District Court in Dayton, was dismissed in April 2001 by Judge Walter Rice. He relied on a 1976 U.S. Supreme Court decision that discrimination based on pregnancy was not covered under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Attorneys for the mothers argued that Rice's ruling was wrong because Congress passed the Pregnancy Discrimination Act in 1978, which overruled the 1976 decision in the area of employment discrimination.
The appeals court found that since the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, which is meant to be broader in scope than the Ohio law, does not cover breast-feeding, Wal-Mart employees did not violate Ohio law by telling the women that they could only breast-feed their babies in the restrooms.