Breastfeeding Van Nuys woman wins settlement against Treasure Island Casino

By Barbara Correa

Four times a night, guests of the Treasure Island Casino in Las Vegas gather to ogle scantily-clad ladies seduce a band of beefy renegade pirates aboard a giant pirate ship. But they’d rather not see bared flesh when it’s connected to a suckling infant.

Last week, a Van Nuys mother won a settlement against Treasure Island Corp., the casino’s parent company, for violating her right to breastfeed her baby. Michelle Nielson was staying at Treasure Island last February to attend a furniture trade show. When she arrived with her four-month-old son, she was told that a room she had booked for early check-in wasn’t ready and staff suggested she wait in one of the hotel restaurants.

Over breakfast in the Tradewinds Buffet, Nielson started to nurse her baby, when another diner complained. “A young girl who was 18 or 19 asked me to go feed him in the toilet and that it was in violation of the health code,’’ said Nielson. The manager then asked Nielson to cover herself, and then to leave the restaurant.

The settlement excludes any payment to Nielson but requests coverage of legal fees up to $1,500. “I just wanted them to know they’d done something wrong,’’ said Nielson, a mother of three who owns several furniture stores.

In 2001, Treasure Island settled a similar case after asking a breastfeeding mother to move out of public view. According to the current settlement agreement, Treasure Island agrees to improve employee education and training about public breastfeeding.

Yvette Monet, a spokeswoman for MGM Mirage, TI’s parent company, said the company regretted the incident and responded to it by implementing changes in training. “This was a very unfortunate incident and we regret it took place. We’ve since taken steps in training and related efforts to see to it doesn’t happen again.

Nevada, like California, stipulates that businesses cannot ask a nursing mother to leave the premises, go to a separate area or cover up. But awareness of the law is limited.

“People assume [breastfeeding in public] is against the law,’’ said Cacilia Kim, a staff attorney for California Women’s Law Center, based in Los Angeles. “The hypocrisy is so overwhelming in this case, because women’s breasts and butts are everywhere, so the idea that someone told her to cover up is just outrageous.’’