Jury Awards $3.8 Million to Tucson Firefighter Over Nursing Mothers Rights

A federal court jury in Arizona has awarded a Tucson firefighter $3.8 million in damages for the department’s failure to accommodate her needs as a nursing mother. Carrie Clark filed suit in 2014 alleging her fire station did not accommodate her need to express breast milk, and that she was retaliated against once her complaints became known.

The suit alleged violations of the Nursing Mothers Act (which is part of the Fair Labor Standards Act), gender discrimination, pregnancy discrimination, and retaliation.  The jury found the city liable on four counts: gender discrimination (disparate treatment), violating the Nursing Mothers Act, and retaliation under both gender discrimination and the Nursing Mothers Act. The breakdown on damages is:

• $50,000 – Gender discrimination
• $1.85 million – Gender discrimination retaliation
• $50,000 – Nursing Mother’s Act (FLSA)
• $1.85 million – FLSA retaliation

Here is the jury verdict form that was submitted by the jury

The jury rendered its verdict last Friday. Here is an earlier post about the suit. The original suit was filed in Pima County Superior Court, but it was removed to federal court due to the federal issues in the case.