at Frontier Airlines who today filed a lawsuit challenging the airline’s practices that systematically penalize flight crew who are pregnant or breastfeeding. I have the privilege of representing these courageous women, who have decided to speak out and tell Frontier Airlines that this type of systemic sexism won’t fly.
The situation was even worse when Ms. Freyer returned after having her second child. This time, instead of ignoring her, the company actively prohibited her from pumping on the job, insisting that she could only pump in the lavatory before takeoff or after landing and not at all on the flight deck. It took multiple requests and, ultimately, a discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to receive a list of places where she could pump while on trips.
Today’s lawsuit exposes policies and practices that, while less overtly misogynistic, still end up bringing women’s careers to a standstill as soon as they start their families. And because this type of discrimination is so firmly baked into a workplace culture, it can be much more difficult to root out.