Legal IQ Tips: Consumer Protection, Contracts & Estate Planning
Some more on my series dedicated to my new and soon to be parents out there. This one focuses on the last two 'legal things' you need to be aware of once your baby arrives.
HEALTH INSURANCE
Now that your little one has arrived, you want to be sure your health insurance is updated to the family plan. This "life event" will allow you to change your plan. As noted in my "planning post" (https://www.facebook.com/dcravenlaw/posts/747689372054329:0) you may want to take a good hard look at your actual plan to see if you want to adjust coverage and plans now that your family has grown.
Beyond plan change, you need to make sure your new boy or girl is added to your plan. It's imperative you get this information over ASAP as you'll want to be sure your new child is covered. Each insurance company and plan is different and it’s best you contact them directly to see how to send in the information.
RIGHTS TO NURSE IN PUBLIC
For all my moms out there, this topic is so important for you to be informed about. The US is actually pretty progressive with their rights, as compared to some countries where women still struggle for equal rights and protections under the law. When your traveling, be sure you know the laws of the country your headed to.
Just like with all laws, there are federal and state statutes which dictate the laws around nursing. While there isn’t anything on the books federally for public nursing, federal laws do cover standards in the work place (my next post). Breastfeeding in public is covered by state specific laws.
The law explicitly protects moms, who are breastfeeding, in public, in almost ALL of the 50 states.
Forty-nine states (Idaho is the only State that doesn’t have a law protecting mothers) as well as the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands have laws that specifically allow women to breastfeed in ANY public or private location. What this means is that a woman breastfeeding in public; cannot be asked to “cover-up”, be discriminated against in any way, or charged with indecent exposure.
In RI the law states that a woman is allowed to feed her child, by bottle or breast, in any place open to the public. RI goes one step further and allows a mother to sue if this right is denied. RI is one of the few states where a mother can actually sue if they are discriminated against for breastfeeding in public.
Twenty-nine states as well as the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands exempt breastfeeding from public indecency laws. This means that moms who nurse in public cannot be criminally charged with indecent exposure. In the other states, there isn’t anything specifically on the books stating that mothers cannot be charged with indecent exposure, but, a mother has never been prosecuted on that matter.
Seventeen states and Puerto Rico exempt breastfeeding mothers from jury duty or allow jury service to be postponed.
Six states and Puerto Rico have implemented or encouraged the development of a breastfeeding awareness education campaign.
As always, if you have questions, feel free to contact me.
Last post in this series will focus on back to work- nursing rights and discrimination.
