Pregnant women invited to quit jobs: ‘It’s not a prison’
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The workplace is not a prison, said one lawmaker in South Dakota who sided against a workplace accommodation bill that would have made it easier for pregnant and postpartum women to remain on the job.
Eight male lawmakers in South Dakota quashed a bill on Feb. 6 that would have provided workplace protections for pregnant and postpartum women, a move that would have put the state in line with 18 states and Washington, D.C., that have such laws in place, according to media reports.
House Bill 1120 would have required businesses to provide accommodations such as stools to sit on or time to breastfeed.
Widely reported were the comments of state Rep. Wayne H. Steinhauer, R-Hartford, one of the dissenters, who told lawmakers earlier this month: “It’s not prison. You can quit … You’ve got a choice every day. You make a choice whether you come to work.”
Rep. Steinhauer, a businessman, added: “And I’m here to tell you, if a person’s not allowing you to breast-feed at work or making appropriate accommodations at work, we can pass this law, but you don’t want to work for that guy. Get the heck out of there.”
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