So, we have a room called the “mothers room” at work. There are two or three of these rooms in the building and I work for a large corporation. They are never used really ever. I know because I sit near it and watch the rooms remain unoccupied except when people occasionally use the sink to wash there hands. If a person has used it for breastfeeding, I would be shocked if I missed it, but it is possible obviously.
Well, today I used it for exactly that. I washed my hands. I was in it for no more than 2 minutes. I walked out and some women told me I am not allowed to be in that room. I will save the conversation but she did it twice, with a massive attitude, and I acknowledged what she said without agreeing or disagreeing. Side note, a coworker said many think she is a b#%*#, but that is a side note. She also doesn’t have a kid or breastfeeds, so I wasn’t stopping her from using it for those two minutes (I will save how I know this, but it is known).
Anyways, my question is not a “moral” question about using it, but a legal one. Can a workplace say that a man can NOT use a room designated or “dedicated” to mothers (it appears to be for breastfeeding)? I’m not saying for a man to occupy it for meetings, social time, or other things. I mean to use it for a couple of minutes to use the sink to wash there hands or other things for 2 to 4 minutes max?
Reason I ask is that this seems to be discrimination. I do not see any “fathers room” that is equal or equivalent to this room. Also, since we as a country (USA) just stated that a workplace or business can not tell a person what bathroom they are allowed to use based on appearances or assumptions, what gives them the right to tell me I can not use the room or sink or enter into said room?
To be clear, I am not interested in sitting in the room and preventing someone from using it who needs to breastfeed. I would only be washing my hands in there and drying them mainly. It would take a couple minutes max with the door shut. Maybe 4 minutes at max to even be extremely conservative about the number.
What is my legal rights to using this room? Can a coworker or anyone else tell me I can not use a room due to my gender or sex? Especially if an equivalent room is not provided?
Thanks you for any information on this.
EDIT: To be clear, this is in the state of North Carolina.
athennna on November 24th, 2018 at 17:18 UTC »
There was a post like this a while back, I forget which sub, where the man posting to complain literally did not understand what the room was being used for.
He thought that the “Mother’s Room” was being used by tired new moms to take naps during the day, and he was upset that new dads didn’t have the same privilege. “Dads are tired too!”
😂😂 He was mortified when people explained that the rooms are used for pumping breast milk.
tartymae on November 24th, 2018 at 14:53 UTC »
where I work, we have avoided the issue entirely because we don't call them "mother's" rooms but "lactation rooms"
Are you breast feeding or pumping your milk? Here's a room!
BabaOrly on November 24th, 2018 at 11:57 UTC »
I suppose a lawyer could say that the room isn't for women, but for breastfeeding people, but then the employer would have to enforce that and not let anyone who wasn't breastfeeding use the room.