I am on call for jury duty this week, and I have been given incorrect and incomplete information about lactation accommodations and my rights as a breastfeeding mother.
California has a law that allows breastfeeding mothers to postpone jury duty for one year. Problem is, the clerk who initially postponed my service, months ago over the phone, wasn’t aware of this (neither was I, at the time). She told me, in an impatient tone, that September 14 was the absolute latest I could postpone, and that I was already beyond my extension limit.
When I made a call last week to inquire about pumping accommodations, the courthouse staff person had to ask her supervisor. I was informed that I could request to postpone it until December at the latest, when my baby turns 1. But I was thinking of taking vacation that month. If I have jury duty then, I’m stuck.
She told me there are facilities for pumping my milk, but she wasn’t able to describe these facilities, when I asked for details, other than it is a space with an electrical outlet. Sink? Chair? Privacy? She wasn’t sure.
Because of my hope for a winter vacation, I decided to leave my jury duty as scheduled for this week. And that would mean lugging my (rather heavy) pump and all my supplies with me downtown via public transit, uncertain of where and when I would be able to pump.
Then, in the process of writing this post, the night before I am scheduled for jury duty, I actually looked up the law and read it myself. Wait a minute. . . not only can I postpone it for a full year while breastfeeding, but then at one year, I can submit a written request to postpone it further as long as I am still breastfeeding.
Awesome law, California! Now, why doesn’t your courthouse staff know about it!? I talked to 3 different people, one of whom consulted a supervisor, and never was I fully informed of the extent of the law as it affects me.
Time to make some more phone calls. Quick, before they call me (and my breast pump) into the courthouse!
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I was just summoned to jury duty as well. The one-year postponement is in the paperwork they sent me, but when I called, the person I spoke to told me I could only postpone for 90 days. I just assumed I had to postpone every 90 days until one year came up… I guess I’ll have to be more aggressive when my summons comes three months from now. Thanks for the heads-up.
Nicole- did you tell them you are breastfeeding? I wonder why they told you 90 days, when they told me 6 months? Still, both were wrong. I think they need to do some staff training on the breastfeeding laws.
Yeah, I told them. All she seemed to hear was that I was the sole caretaker for my children, though, which does allow for a 90 day postponement “to arrange care”. I just figured I’d deal with it when/if I was summoned in 90 days. Maybe the people who read the mail-in part of the form know more…