NYCLU Threatens To Sue Toys ‘R’ Us Over Treatment of a Breastfeeding Shopper
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
The New York Civil Liberties Union claims that Toys “R” Us employees harassed a shopper who was breastfeeding her infant this week at the 42nd Street store.
In a letter sent to company headquarters in Wayne, N.J., yesterday, a lawyer with the NYCLU claims the company violated the state’s basic civil rights law and demanded a public apology and compensation for the mother.
A lawsuit could follow if the demands are not met, the lawyer, Elisabeth Benjamin, said, in an interview yesterday.
The NYCLU claims that when the mother, Chelsi Meyerson of Brooklyn, began to breastfeed, five different saleswomen confronted her, according to the letter. At least one saleswoman told Ms. Meyerson that breastfeeding on the store floor was “inappropriate” because of all the nearby children, the letter stated.
The NYCLU claims that Ms. Meyerson was told she would have to move to a room on the basement floor of the store if she wanted to continue breastfeeding. One saleswoman went so far as to call over a security guard, according to the letter, which notes that by the time the guard arrived, her infant had finished feeding.
“We can get ready to sue if Toys “R” Us is going to insist that it is appropriate to send women to the basement,” Ms. Benjamin said.
In a statement sent via e-mail, a spokeswoman for company disputed the NYCLU’s account of the incident and wrote that Toys “R” Us had a “commitment to nursing moms.”
The spokeswoman, Lisa Lewin, wrote that nobody ordered Ms. Meyerson around.
“Ms. Meyerson, who was breastfeeding on the selling floor, was in fact, asked by store associates if she would be more comfortable in a private environment,” Ms. Lewin wrote. “When she said no, store associates left her to continue breastfeeding without interruption.”
Many Toys “R” Us stores — including the 42nd Street one — have private nursing areas, Ms. Lewin wrote.
Ms. Benjamin said that beginning in 1994, women could breastfeed their children in any location they were authorized to be.
In the letter, the NYCLU demands a meeting with Toys “R” Us company officials. The incident occurred Monday.
Last year, hundreds of mothers staged a “nurse-in” protest after Barbara Walters voiced, on air, that the sight of a woman breastfeeding next to her had once made her uncomfortable.
