FACT CHECK: Did Nate Willems want breastfeeding women to sign an agreement with their boss?
DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) - The latest ad against Democratic attorney general candidate Nate Willems claims he proposed a law that would require pregnant women to disclose to their boss if they plan to breastfeed before they even give birth.
Republican Attorney General Brenna Bird’s campaign created the ad.
It points to a 2010 bill, when Willems was a state representative. Iowa lawmakers were working to pass a bill to make it easier for women to breastfeed at work.
It required employers to provide reasonable accommodations, like break time and a private space, for nursing mothers.
The bill passed the Iowa Senate. Once it reached the House, Willems proposed a last minute change.
The ad says “Willems proposed a law forcing pregnant women to disclose to their boss how they plan to nurse their baby.”
Willems said adding this to the bill would help it pass in the House.
The ad goes on to say, “Nate Willems wanted to force women to give a signed and notarized agreement to their boss, explaining their nursing plans.”
Under the proposal, a woman and her employer would have a written agreement of her breastfeeding plans. That notice was due at least 30 days before her expected due date. Advocates at the time said these requirements could keep women from breastfeeding.
Willems did amend the bill to say the agreement just had to be “witnessed” and not “notarized” by a third party.
His campaign also said Willems worked to improve the bill with two Republican lawmakers, including Iowa Republican Party Chairman Jeff Kaufmann.
“Nate Willems has always fought to... ensure [workers] have a safe workplace where their rights are protected,” a statement from his campaign said. “Brenna Bird is too focused on divisive political attacks to get the facts straight.”
The bill never became law as it died in the final hours of the legislative session.
So while the ad is accurate that Willems proposed this requirement, he also made efforts to adjust the bill to help businesses and women.
Women did gain new breastfeeding protections that same year — just not from Iowa. The Break Time for Nursing Mothers Act was part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed into law in 2010.
The law requires employers with more than 50 workers to give unpaid break time and private space — not a bathroom — for employees to pump breast milk, for up to a year after childbirth.
It also did not require a pregnant woman tell her boss a future pumping schedule.
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