I have received a question from a teacher in Tennessee (USA) regarding her
right to pump her milk in the workplace. She has given me permission to
share her situation and solicit suggestions. I am currently no mail, so
please email privately in addition to posting to the list if you have
suggestions.
Thank you in advance.
Sara Reuning, MS, IBCLC in Bristol, TN
Here are the communications from the mom; the first was her initial email
to me and the second was in response to questions/comments from me:
>>I have a five month old daughter that I am breastfeeding. I recently
returned to work as a teacher in _____ County. Before I left on maternity
leave, I had my schedule arranged so that when I returned, I would have
sufficient time during the day to pump. While I was out on maternity
leave, the administration at my school changed my schedule, and they say
that I am now going to be required to have a study hall class during the
time I had scheduled to pump. I explained to them that I have to have some
time in the afternoons to pump in order to pump enough for my baby for the
following day. I used most of my sick days for my maternity leave and do
not have enough left to be able to stay home. I have researched the new
Tennessee law regarding employers and breastfeeding. Do I have a legal
right to demand that they change my schedule back to the way it was
supposed to be? My baby has a cow's milk allergy and a soy allergy - we
have not been able to find any formula that she can tolerate. Please let
me know if you have any information that could help me. Thank you!<<
<<Unfortunately, I have already tried to explain to my principal and
assistant principal the necessity of breastfeeding my baby. It just does
not seem as important to them as it is to me, of course.
I teach in a middle school, therefore my schedule is a little more
flexible than in an elementary school. We have seven periods a day, 5 of
which are academic classes. We then have one planning period and one Study
Hall. The way our schedule works out, there are two six weeks periods each
year that an individual teacher has two planning periods and no Study
Hall. At the very beginning of this school year, I went to the principal
and assistant principal and explained to them that when I returned from my
maternity leave, I would still be breastfeeding my daughter and would need
some extra time during the day to express milk. I asked them to schedule
one of my six weeks periods with no Study Hall for this last six weeks,
which they agreed to. While I was out on maternity leave, they changed my
schedule (without contacting me) and gave my interim substitute a double
planning period, which used up my six weeks period with double
planning. Now I only have one time each day, which is early in the
morning, that I can pump without leaving my class unattended. The
Tennessee code states the following:
Tenn. Code Ann. ?50-1-305
1999 Tn. ALS 161; 1999 Tenn. Pub. Acts 161; 1999 Tn. Pub. Ch. 161; 1999 Tn.
SB 1856
(a) An employer shall provide reasonable unpaid break time each day to an
employee who needs to express breast milk for her infant child. The break
time shall, if possible, run concurrently with any break time already
provided to the employee. An employer shall not be required to provide
break time under this section if to do so would unduly disrupt the
operations of the employer.
(b) The employer shall make reasonable efforts to provide a room or other
location in close proximity to the work area, other than a toilet stall,
where the employee can express her breast milk in privacy. The employer
shall be held harmless if reasonable effort has been made to comply with
this subsection.
(c) For the purposes of this section, "employer" means a person or entity
that employs one (1) or more employees and includes the state and its
political subdivisions.
I tried to not "unduly disrupt the operations of the employer" by
having everything worked out before I left on maternity leave. I feel like
I did everything I could to make this as easy on them as possible. If
things had been left the way we scheduled them before I left, there would
be absolutely no problems. Now, my planning period and my lunch period are
back to back, with no other break during the day.
Please, with my permission, forward these emails to anyone that you
feel might be able to give me some insight or help me in any way. I feel
like my daughter and I are being punished for someone else's thoughtless
mistake. Thank You!<<
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