Woman had right to nurse, panel says

A state law gives legal protection to breast-feeding in public.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- A woman had a right to breast-feed her baby at a health club despite a manager's objections, the Ohio Civil Rights Commission has ruled.
Anna Swank filed a discrimination complaint last August against Lifestyle Family Fitness in nearby Reynoldsburg after a female manager told her that it was inappropriate for Swank to nurse her then-6-month-old son in the gym's child care room, according to the complaint.
The manager threatened to revoke Swank's privileges to use the child care service and she was told to go to a locker room, Swank said.
"I was in my workout clothes and was completely covered," said Swank, 33, of the Columbus suburb of Blacklick.
The state civil rights commission found probable cause that the health club discriminated against Swank, executive director G. Michael Payton said. The ruling means that enough evidence exists to document the claim.
A 2005 Ohio law gives legal protection to public breast-feeding and says nursing must be allowed in any place that accommodates the public.
"Only females breast-feed their babies," Payton said. "Therefore, rules and regulations which create a hardship or burden to providing nourishment in commonly accepted ways violates the public accommodation provision on the basis of sex."
Seeking resolution
State officials will meet with the fitness company to try to resolve the dispute, Payton said. If that effort fails, the civil rights commission will issue a formal complaint and the attorney general's office will prosecute the case in an administrative hearing.
Other women have filed discrimination complaints over breast-feeding, Payton said, but this is the first time the matter has not been resolved before the commission issued a ruling.
Susan DiMickele, an attorney for Lifestyle Family Fitness, said Swank's complaint is moot because she went to the fitness center about two days later and was allowed to nurse.
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