FAWL’s mission is to actively promote gender equality and the leadership roles of FAWL’s members in the legal profession, judiciary and community at large. With that in mind, through the FAWL Lactation Taskforce and the giving of grants, FAWL continues to encourage its members and chapters to keep up the good work of opening dedicated lactation spaces in every State courthouse across the State. FAWL will always support and celebrate the work of FAWL members and community leaders who come together to ensure that Florida’s courthouses are as welcoming and inclusive to nursing mothers as they can be.
The FAWL Lactation Taskforce, chaired by Jen Feld, has thoughtfully prepared two guides that I hope are of service to its members. First is the Courthouse Lactation Space Handbook, which should provide all the information and guidance needed to open a dedicated lactation space in your local courthouse. The second is a Courthouse Directory which lists all of the dedicated lactation spaces in State courthouses and judicial complexes across the State. Not only can the guide be used by any FAWL member who is, or knows of a nursing mother who needs to travel to distant courthouses for work, but that Directory also highlights the many areas that are still in need of dedicated lactation spaces. If you would like a copy of the Handbook or Courthouse Directory, please visit the FAWL website, and go to the tabs marked “About,” and “Lactation Space Directory.”
Speaking of lactation spaces, have you seen the news about HB87 and SB144? For the last two years, FAWL has advocated for the Florida Legislature to pass legislation that will ensure that no dedicated courthouse lactation space can ever be eliminated after it has been opened. HB87 and SB144, if passed, will do just that. The passage of HB87 and SB144 is crucial to not only protecting the privacy and hygiene of nursing mothers who desire to return to work without sacrificing their most personal of family choices, but it will also bring the State of Florida in line with federal law that protects the rights of nursing mothers to have dedicated lactation spaces on federal property and in federal courthouses.
FAWL has two important meetings coming up in the next few months, and I hope to see as many of you there as possible. First is the FAWL is All of Us Mid-Year Conference at the Stetson Law School campus in Tampa on February 9 and 10, 2023. Attendees will learn about successful award winning chapter programming, how to become a better leader in their chapter, and mingle with many members of the judiciary in the Tampa area at our Judicial Reception.
Please register at www.fawl.org, and don’t forget to bring an unwrapped toy for our off-holiday toy drive.
The second meeting, Lobby Days, will be in Tallahassee from March 26-28, 2023. Registration details will be posted soon, but rest assured that FAWL members who attend will continue to advocate for the passage of HB87 and SB144. If you care about protecting dedicated lactation spaces for nursing mothers in our State courthouses, I hope you attend.
I am very much looking forward to seeing you soon at our next meetings!
Donna L. Eng
FAWL President
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