Sutton, Dems Back Workplace Accommodations for Moms; Repubs Say Business over Babies!

Senator Billie Sutton and the Democratic caucus get credit for fighting for practical women’s issues with House Bill 1153, which sought to protect pregnant and breastfeeding moms in the workplace. HB 1153 would have required businesses with 50 or more employees to “make reasonable accommodations” (such as “more frequent or longer breaks, time off to recover from childbirth, adjustment of seating, temporary transfer to a less strenuous or hazardous position, job restructuring, private nonbathroom space for breastfeeding, assistance with manual labor, modified work schedules”) for imminent and new moms. HB 1153 would also have prevented employers from taking “adverse action” against employees who requested or used such accommodations.

Dad and husband Sutton recognizes the value of taking care of moms and babies:

“In 41 percent of our families in South Dakota, women are the primary breadwinners and also South Dakota has the highest percentage of working mothers in the country at 84 percent. I think it’s a conversation about how we give women the opportunity to participate in the workforce,” South Dakota Senator Billie Sutton said.

…“I have a young son who’s a year and 9 months old and my wife is in the workforce. Our local bank has made these types of accommodations. So it’s certainly affected my family and I think if you talk to a lot of folks out there, they would say the same thing,” Sutton said [Michaela Feldmann, “Bill to Accommodate Pregnant, Breastfeeding Mothers in Workplace,” KSFY, 2018.02.04].

The business community lined up ten deep (hoteliers, human resource managers, retailers, chambers, contractors) to oppose HB 1153 in House Commerce and Energy yesterday, and nine “family values” Republicans put business over babies and killed HB 1153.

One silver lining to the vote: Republican Wayne Steinhauer joined Democrats Steve McCleery and Spencer Hawley in voting to keep HB 1153 alive. Steinhauer perhaps came to his senses after voting against a similar mom-accommodation bill last year, about which Steinhauer said women who don’t like their bosses’ rules are free to quit and look for other work. Cool—at that rate of persuasion, we Democrats may be able to pass some pro-mom bills by the 2022 Session!