Breastfeeding - A Good Way to Get Fired?

It has been a win some/lose some week for breastfeeding moms who work.

The California Fair Employment and Housing Commission ruled (CFEHC) that a woman cannot be fired for breastfeeding during break time. Marina Chavez, a cashier at Acosta Tacos in Los Angeles, was fired from her job when her manager discovered she had been using her breaks to breastfeed her premature baby. When manager Jaime Acosta discovered that Chavez's boyfriend had been bringing the 4-week-old baby to the restaurant so Chavez could nurse the child in the car, Acosta told her she could not come back to work until she stopped nursing her baby. When she stated that she could not wait that long to return to work because the family needed the money, Acosta fired her. The CFEHC ruled that breastfeeding on one's own time (as the break is considered to be) is protected under California law. Acosta Tacos was ordered to pay Chavez $41k and pay a fine to the state of $5k.

At least one state got it right. Unfortunately, it would seem that another state got it wrong.

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the Totes/Isotoner Corporation was lawful in firing LaNisa Allen from her job for taking unauthorized breaks in order to pump milk. According to Ms. Allen, she was told she could pump during her lunch break, more than 5 hours after last nursing her then 4-month old son. When she waited the 5 hours, she found that her breasts would hurt and she would leak milk. After noticing that other workers took unauthorized breaks to use the restroom and have a cigarette, she began taking a break at 10am in order to pump. When her supervisors discovered this, they fired her for taking unauthorized breaks. Ms. Allen filed suit, claiming she had been discriminated against. The Ohio Supreme Court disagreed.

Really, how is this anything but discrimination? Many lactating woman cannot just "hold it" for 5+ hours without suffering from pain and engorgement, at the very least. Not allowing an engorged woman to empty her breasts can lead to blocked ducts and mastitis, a serious breast infection. Would the Ohio court have ruled it was ok for the Totes/Isotoner corporation to fire someone with diabetes if they took "unauthorized breaks" to check their blood sugar and take insulin? Or how about if they fired someone with bladder issues who had to use the restroom more often than once every 5 hours? As it is, according to Ms. Allen, co-workers took unauthorized breaks to smoke and use the bathroom - why was she singled out and what was lawful about that?

To make things even worse, Totes/Isotoner touts their Comfort for a Cure Campaign to raise money for the breast cancer research. Yep, the very same body part that produces breastmilk. By the way, did you know that breastfeeding has been found to reduce the risk of developing breast cancer? So it would seem that Totes/Isotoner only cares about finding a cure, but not supporting the prevention of breast cancer.

Yeah. You can send those emails to customeraffairs@totes.com.