National Breastfeeding Awareness Month may have ended a few weeks ago (August 31) but any time is a good time for employers and employees who are new (or expecting) mothers to familiarize or re-familiarize themselves with the rights and responsibilities that federal and state laws lay out for workers who need to nurse or express milk (a/k/a pump) during the work day. If you have questions about this aspect of the law, a knowledgeable Atlanta wage and hour lawyer is an essential resource for obtaining reliable answers and ensuring compliance.
Some of the federal requirements in this sphere are well-known, such as the obligation to give nursing/pumping moms breaks to breastfeed/express milk and provide those moms with an appropriate space for this activity. (In other words, not a toilet stall in the office’s communal bathroom or a supply room with no lock on the door that coworkers enter frequently.)
Multiple recent federal class action lawsuits against fast-food employers have focused on the right to an appropriate pumping location.
Earlier this year, workers brought a class action against McDonald’s, alleging that the burger giant violated the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers (PUMP) Act. A McDonald’s employee in Kansas alleged that her bosses made her pump either “in the corner of the stock room to avoid the sight lines of the security cameras or, when she worked with male employees, in the bathroom.” A New York employee of the Golden Arches alleged that her bosses made her pump in a back office that did not have a door and was open to all of her coworkers, many of whom would enter while she expressed milk.
A few weeks before that, a Wendy’s worker from South Georgia sued that chain over the employer’s alleged practice of forcing her to pump in a break room that was accessible to all of her coworkers. According to her complaint, the new mom had to cover herself with an apron to get any degree of privacy.
The worker in Adel and Wendy’s stipulated to a dismissal of the lawsuit in June.
Additional Protections for Pumping Moms (and Limitations to Those Rights)
While the right to a proper pumping place has been relatively well-publicized, some aspects of the law are less well-known. Here are a few that employers and nursing/pumping employees should make themselves aware of.
#1 – No Bathrooms… At All
As noted above, stalls inside communal bathrooms are always an inappropriate space to designate as the dedicated pumping location. The Fair Labor Standards Act, however, says that any bathroom – even a private, single-occupant restroom with a shelf for a pump, a sink, and an electrical outlet – is always an inappropriate location.
#2 – There’s a Cutoff to These Statutory Rights
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization recommend that moms continue “breastfeeding along with appropriate complementary foods for up to 2 years of age or older.” The FLSA has a tighter window. The law says that employers must provide breastfeeding/pumping moms with breaks and an appropriate pumping space for “one year after the child’s birth.” After the child passes 12 months of age, federal law imposes no requirements on the employers of moms who continue to breastfeed/pump.
#3 – Commercial Flight Attendants and Pilots Generally Aren’t Protected
The vast majority of workers who recently gave birth are entitled to these protections. Two groups of employees are broadly uncovered. One is workers employed by small (<50) employers when providing the protections would constitute an “undue burden” on the employer. The other group is certain employees of air carriers, rail carriers, and motorcoach carriers. In terms of airlines, federal standards consider a crewmember to be “a person assigned to perform duty in an aircraft during flight time including pilots and flight attendants.”
Employers and new working moms need to know about the statutory rights afforded to nursing/pumping moms in the workplace. To get clear and effective advice about your (or your employer’s) practices and their level of compliance with the law, talk to the knowledgeable Atlanta wage and hour attorneys at the law firm of Parks, Chesin & Walbert. Contact us through this website or at 404-873-8048 to schedule a consultation today. Our team is ready to help and equipped with the extensive experience necessary to give you the answers you need.