breast is best

They probably meant that you pumping in the office wasn't sanitary for
the kitchen, not for you.

There's a fine line in restaurant sanitation. Pumping is akin to going
to the bathroom, you are dealing with bodily fluids. I wonder what
the Dept of Health would say, because the owners COULD be right, it's
too close to the kitchen. I don't mean to be rude but that could be
the case.

Maybe this is why men are paid more than women, less drama? As a
woman in the work force I deal with so many women who feel they are
special and have needs which must be met...one has a "medical
condition" and must eat earlier than everyone else, another takes off
at least once a month for her period and then complains before of
pmsing and after of cramps, then there's another who is going through
the change.

I am glad you found a good fit for you. It's sad you can't afford to
stay home and raise your child. I rarely agree with McJohn but I can
understand that asking to use an office for something other than work
is an imposition and disruption to the business.

However the law is the law and breast milk is better and despite what
is annoying or unfair it's not for the mother...it's for the child.

I BREAST FEED BOTH MY GIRLS FOR THE FIRST YEAR OF THEIR LIFE. AND I
PUMPED BEFORE I WENT TO WORK ON MY LUCH BREAK AND AFTER MY SHIFT. I
HAD NO ISSUES. IF I LEAKED I WENT IN THE BATHROOM AND PUMPED. IT NEVER
TOOK 30 MINS. AT THE MOST WAS FIVE MINS. GET THE MANUAL PUMP AND HOOK
IT UP AND PUMP IT OUT! NOT THAT HARD. AND I THINK THAT THE ONLY REASON
YOU DIDN'T SUE IS BECAUSE YOU HAD NO AND I MEAN NO CASE. ALL YOU WOULD
NEED IS A WOMAN LIKE ME TO SEE RIGHT THROUGH YOU. WHAT GETS ME IS THAT
YOU WERE SO INTO PUMPPING AT THE JOB YOU HATE BUT NOW AT THIS JOB AS
YOU SAID"THEY LOVE ME AND REMIND ME TO PUMP" SO I GUESS NOW PUMPPING
IS NOT THAT IMPORTANT AS IT WAS AT THE FIRST JOB.

The frustration felt should be toward management -

The nursing mom is legally protected and entitled to pump at work.
She is due that accomodation, in most cases.

The requirement is that employers provide UNPAID time.

Really, nobody should be impacted negatively, if the MANAGER does
their job. If the nursing mom is scheduled an 8 hour shift and needs
to pump 3 times at 30 minutes each, that is 1.5 payroll hours that can
go elsewhere. Manage the schedule. Give those hours to a coworker
who wants to pick up hours. Especially in a retail or restaurant
setting, that hsouldn't be hard. Mom works 9-5, coworker scheduled
11-3 could be given and additional 1 hour, and work
10:30-3:30...presto, like magic they have accomodated the mom for 2
pumping sessions, spent no extra money on payroll and provided an
additional hour of pay to a coworker. It wouldn't be a stretch to
assume the same could be done with another shift, starting kind of in
the middle, although I typically only pumped once a day, and usually
while I sat at my desk and did some sort of paperwork or ate lunch.

Very few reatil/restaurant positions are full time - this is not
difficult.

Your child is 13 months old, its not like he/she is dependent on your
milk anymore. I agree that breast is best but your child is over a
year old and getting most of his/her nutrients from solid food.

If you require special accommodations such as pumping breaks, you
should of notified the restaurant manager prior to accepting the job.
Its called common courtesy. By law, no you don't have to tell them
anything during the interview but when you have an accommodation that
impacts other employee's, you should be upfront about it.

You can't compare cigarette breaks to pumping breaks. It takes all of
5 minutes to smoke a cigarette. Pumping takes much longer. Once you've
retrieved your pump, you still have to set it up, get yourself
physically ready, pump which takes at least 15-20 minutes if you've
got a good pump, redress yourself, wipe down/clean your pump parts,
put the pump away and store your milk. I'm breastfeeding my 6 month
old and I rarely pump because it's such a hassle. I also have to
wonder why you need to pump during your shift at all? Your child is 13
months old.

I'm a nursing mother and I'm having a hard time sympathizing with you.
I've worked with someone who had to pump during work, who had to miss
work for sick kids, dr's appointments, parent teach conferences, other
school meetings and even back to school shopping! (and we worked m-f
8-5). I had to cover for her every time she left work and it wasn't
fair to me. She did everything during work hours. She could of easily
done most of that before work, after work or on weekends. I have no
problem helping out a co-worker but I should not have to suffer
because my co-worker has children. That's not my problem.

N.Y. Labor Law § 206-c (2007) states that employers must allow
breastfeeding mothers reasonable, unpaid break times to express milk
and make a reasonable attempt to provide a private location for her to
do so. Prohibits discrimination against breastfeeding mothers.

I don't see anything in the specific NY law that states 1 year. And
the break time is unpaid, so they could reasonably assume the amount
of time she would need in a given length shift and bump up someone
elses hours to cover.

It doesn't matter if you agree, they are required to do so.

I'm very pro-nursing. I support mothers' rights to breast feed in
public, not to have to do it in restrooms (that's kind of icky, IMHO),
and even to not cover with a blanket (since a baby who isn't used to
that at home won't tolerate it out in public).

But I also know too many nursing mothers who used a ton of time at
work to pump -- and they themselves complain about the time it takes.
One quit after two months of it (kid #2) because of the time it was
taking away from her work.

This LW's child is 13 months old. I think taking a restaurant job and
expecting pumping time to work with that kind of a job (where
waitstaff doesn't even get breaks to eat, they tend to grab and go
when they have a minute) was unrealistic.

It would seem that working in a restaurant while needing to use a
breast pump may not be the best situation.

What do you do when there are MANY customers needing to be served, &
you NEED to breast pump?

Who covers for those customers?

How would the customers feel?

So how can this be accomplished, & keep everyone happy?

So did you even mention during your interview, before you were hired,
that you would be using a breast pump at work & asked what
accommodations were available?

If not, then you really should NOT be mad at your former employer.

welcome to restaurant work. not saying all restaurants are bad but
working in them (from mom and pops to corporates) is a whole different
ball game from any other industry. it doesn't surprise me that your
trainer went and smoked several times...that is pretty much the only
way to get a break during a shift.

and as far as the sanitary comment, it could be that having the pump
and the milk in the kitchen is unsanitary. most restaurants have rules
against outside items (such as food and personal items) in the kitchen
because it takes points off their scores if the health department were
to come in.

sounds like you ended up in a way better place though so congrats

Section 4207 of the health care bill amends the Fair Labor Standards
Act of 1938 to include the guarantee of “a reasonable break time for
an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for 1 year
after the child’s birth each time such employee has need to express
the milk,” for nonexempt hourly workers, and also the stipulation that
this be done in “a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from
view and free from intrusion from co-workers and the public.”

* * *

And yet, if I were your coworker, I'd make you so miserable you quit.
I'd get awfully sick and tired of covering for you.

I wonder if it is possible for the OP to write to her local
Congressman or to her state Senator regagrding if there is a law
indicating that the restaurant would have to provide specific
accommodations for her to use her breast pump.

I am going to agree with you. This was really crummy of them to do,
my guess is that it is a small company that does not have to abide by
the laws set in place for breastfeeding mothers.

It most likely made them uncomfortable and didn't want to deal with it
- and I agree that the car and bathroom are NOT acceptable options.
When I was breastfeeding my kids, I didn't like those options either.
The car wasn't so bad, but I only ever ONCE breastfed in a bathroom
but it was only because I was at a theme park and got caught in a
downpour and absolutely NO ONE would give up a seat in one of the
covered areas for a woman holding a infant.

But I digress - yea, it was crummy, people take breaks all the time at
work for smoke break or phone calls or whatever, it really shouldn't
have been a problem for you to go behind a locked door and pump for 15
minutes.

The law regarding pumping only pertains to employers who employ a
certain amount of people. In my office, we offer a locked conference
room to any women who are pumping...as the memo said not only is the
law but it's the right thing to do. All that being said, I wouldn't
want to work for any company that did not allow women to pump in a
clean locked space. I'm glad you got a new job where they are more
enlightened.

http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/09/new-rules-about-breast-p
umps-at-work/

http://www.ehow.com/about_6515417_labor-pumping-breast-milk-work_.html

The woman training me has multiple somke breaks...

How does that pertain to your breastfeeding?

Why wold you sue the manager for his behavior? He gave you 2 options,
which you turned down. The manager chose not to have you return. You
now have another job. You no longer work for Antonella's Restaurant.
What would suing the manager accomplish?

You no longer work for Antonella's Restaurant. You found another job.
Why do you need a written apology from an employer you no longer work
for?

It is up to corporate headquarters to decide exactly where
breastfeeding women pump.

Why could you have not pumped at home before going to work?

I wouldnt want you doing it in my office either. I think asking you
to do it in your car is fine, just park somewhere secluded and bring a
blanket.

I dont think you could have sued, they gave you options and you
refused them all and demanded they let you use the Chefs office in the
kitchen. Thats not your office, you dont get to demand it.