News release
Moms Across U.S. Call on Florence, KY Mayor to Rescind Policy Discriminating Against Pregnant City Workers, Urge Accommodation for Police Officer Lyndi Trischler
September 30, 2014
Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996
Moms across the United States who are members of MomsRising, a national online and on-the-ground organization with more than one million members fighting for policies that support family economic security, today called on Florence, Kentucky Mayor Diane Whalen to rescind the city's discriminatory policy regarding pregnant city workers. This policy, which was cited as the reason that Florence police officer Lyndi Trischler was denied light duty to accommodate her pregnancy, has resulted in Trischler being forced to take unpaid leave, causing her to lose her home. The city policy allows for accommodation of city employees only if they were injured on the job, rather than also allowing for pregnancy.
More than 10,000 MomsRising members signed the letter which says,
Mayor Diane E. Whalen:
It’s time for the City of Florence to move forward, not backward.
Florence needs a new policy for modified duty for city employees that is in full compliance with the law. And Officer Trischler needs to be able to go back to her job protecting the people of Florence and financially supporting her family.
We call on you to stand with Florence moms, like Lyndi, to make sure that city workplace policies work for the citizens of Florence, Kentucky. No mother should ever have to be in the position where she is forced to choose between her job and her health or the health of her baby.
The letter was delivered in-person to the Mayor’s office by three area moms who are members of MomsRising, which has more than a million members nationwide and approximately 10,000 in Kentucky. The effort was conducted in conjunction with A Better Balance, which is has filed a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on her behalf against the City of Florence.
“We are pleased to see that thousands of parents are standing up for Officer Trischler,” said Elizabeth Gedmark, Director of the Southern Office at A Better Balance. “The City of Florence needs to do the right thing and change its policy to comply with the law, so that other City employees will not have to go through the economic hardship and stress that Officer Trischler is experiencing. No pregnant worker should have to choose between her paycheck and her health.”
“Officer Trischler’s story is heart-wrenching and our hearts are with her as she deals with a complicated pregnancy and the upcoming birth of her fatally-ill son,” said MomsRising Executive Director and CEO Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner. Her situation is made even more stressful due to the significant financial blow the City's policy is having on her and her family. This kind of discriminatory policy doesn’t just hurt Lyndi Trischler, it hurts our economy. It hurts us all. Research shows that when employers provide reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers they realize benefits to their bottom line, including reduced workforce turnover, increased employee satisfaction and productivity, and savings on workers’ compensation and other insurance costs.”
MomsRising circulated the letter and gathered signatures to it online.