Today the New York Civil Liberties Union filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on behalf of Yadiris Rivera, who was fired from her job for wanting to pump breast milk during the work day. Rivera, a Newark resident, had been working (for six years) at a mammography center in Manhattan and received positive reviews and performance-based raises during her entire time there.
Upon her return from maternity leave last year, her employer was required to accommodate her breast feeding and pumping under state labor law. However, according to the NYCLU, "instead of providing her with an adequate and sanitary place to pump milk, Rivera’s employer ordered her to pump in the office’s restroom, told her she should switch her daughter to formula, and soon told her that she shouldn’t be pumping at work at all." When she had first contacted the NYCLU last October, her employer called her in to a meeting and berated her for her actions. She was later told she had to stop pumping on her daughter's 1st birthday, which she did... she was also fired the next day.
For the record, in 2007 a state law was enacted that guarantees breastfeeding mothers the right to pump milk at work for three years after giving birth. Rivera alleges that her employer’s actions also violated a federal law that prohibits employment discrimination based on sex (including pregnancy and related conditions). She now says, “There are laws out there to protect people like me. Women need to know their rights and employers need to learn the law.”
