CNBNews

Speight, Atkins, Reynolds-Jackson legislation will exempt nursing mothers from jury service

(TRENTON) — A bill that will allow nursing mothers to be exempt from jury duty was signed into law today. Bill A1992, sponsored by Assemblywoman Shanique Speight, Assemblyman Reginald Atkins, and Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, takes a significant step toward ensuring fairness and compassion in New Jersey’s jury duty process.

Previously, nursing mothers were not explicitly exempted from jury duty, often creating a hardship for new moms. This law changes that by exempting nursing mothers from jury duty when the child is one year of age or younger.

“We have a moral obligation to support new moms, and that includes helping women who choose to feed their babies by nursing or pumping, both of which offer lifelong benefits to the child,” said Assemblywoman Speight (D-Essex, Hudson). “By exempting nursing and pumping mothers from jury duty for the first year of a child’s life, we are working to ease one of the challenges faced by many women as they adjust to motherhood.”

“Civic engagement should never come at the expense of a mother’s health or her ability to feed her child,” said Assemblyman Atkins (D-Union). “This law brings much needed compassion and common sense to our jury selection process.”

“Too many nursing mothers have faced an impossible choice to serve their community through jury duty, or meet the basic needs of their child,” said Assemblyman Reynolds-Jackson (D Hunterdon, Mercer). “With this law, we are recognizing that civic duty and motherhood shouldn’t be in conflict.”