Problems with Breastfeeding and the workplace

[I'mTheFather]

This doesn't sound like a hospital setting. How many employees are there?

 

[cbg]

If your expectation is that they are to create a private space that is to be used exclusively for your wife to express and that it will be used for no other purpose so that it is always immediately available, your expectations are too high.

It does not sound as if there has been any attempt to deprive your wife of any protected right. All her but-what-if-they's are wasted energy. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

 

[CJane]

If your expectation is that they are to create a private space that is to be used exclusively for your wife to express and that it will be used for no other purpose so that it is always immediately available, your expectations are too high.

It does not sound as if there has been any attempt to deprive your wife of any protected right. All her but-what-if-they's are wasted energy. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

The legislation I read didn't even indicate that the place must be private. Therefore, a breakroom accessible by others during the break period would be considered acceptable. Unless I'm looking at the wrong legislation, and an updated version requires total privacy.

I returned to work when my son was two days old. I took him with me, and occasionally breastfed sitting at my desk, in an open cube. It's not like discretion isn't possible.

 

[Zigner]

Further clarification - it's a nursing supervisor's job to look out for the PATIENTS' best interests, not necessarily the staff OR the employer. But in this situation, it is actually a nursing supervisor's job to advocate for the needs of her staff so they can do their job and take care of their patients properly.

Wouldn't the proper care of the patients ultimately be the best interest of the employer?


(I get what you are saying )

 

[gandicor]

They are "cleaning house" in either an attempt to lay people off without paying them for it or to replace them with lower paying workers. She only takes about 15-20 minutes to pump while at home, but at work she has to wait for them to situate her somewhere before she can do it. I am not saying she needs a private area, but I want them to stop harassing her about it and stop telling her that she is taking to long to do it. Now she is being told that her supervisors are talking about her whenever she takes a break to do it.

Also, they have already hired a new director of nurses and it turns out that they had her in mind all along. It turns out that she is sleeping with one of the surgeons and it just happens that she is one of the only two coworkers who have been complaining about her breaks. We are in the process of seeking real legal advice.

Furthermore, no one in the HR department has been answering the phone calls or returning her messages. I am sure they are either friends of the owner or outsourced and too busy to bother.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

It is legal to lay her off and hire someone cheaper. Her recourse is to join a union. Now it comes across as if you are attempting to escalate things in an attempt to save her job.

 

[gandicor]

It is legal to lay her off and hire someone cheaper. Her recourse is to join a union. Now it comes across as if you are attempting to escalate things in an attempt to save her job.

I am not sure how you are coming across but that comment isn't needed here. There is a difference between laying someone off and being fired. If they want to lay people off to hire someone cheaper, we are actually fine with that. But what we don't want is for her to be fired for doing her job the same way she has been doing it for the last 3 years there. Please read more carefully before you accuse me of "escalating things."

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

I am not sure how you are coming across but that comment isn't needed here. There is a difference between laying someone off and being fired. If they want to lay people off to hire someone cheaper, we are actually fine with that. But what we don't want is for her to be fired for doing her job the same way she has been doing it for the last 3 years there. Please read more carefully before you accuse me of "escalating things."

You are the one who presented their attempts to eliminate employees. Don't blame me for highlighting the facts you present.

 

[ecmst12]

Every comment OHTroll makes is unnecessary. Feel free to ignore him completely. Engaging never helps.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Every comment OHTroll makes is unnecessary. Feel free to ignore him completely. Engaging never helps.

The fact is, he presented this in a manner which suggests the goal here is to provide a retaliatory defense so they are afraid to terminate her, as they are other higher paid employees. Exploring the proposition is reasonable.

 

[gandicor]

The fact is, he presented this in a manner which suggests the goal here is to provide a retaliatory defense so they are afraid to terminate her, as they are other higher paid employees. Exploring the proposition is reasonable.

My issue is that this place of business is harassing my wife over her right to not give my son baby formula. A weaker women would have already submitted to their pressure and this has opened my eyes to how many women this must happen to in the workplace.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

My issue is that this place of business is harassing my wife over her right to not give my son baby formula. A weaker women would have already submitted to their pressure and this has opened my eyes to how many women this must happen to in the workplace.

I can understand that completely. Even the nursing profession is not exempt from poor workplace environments. Rather than requesting a place to breast pump, has she attempted the proactive method, when going on break, such as advising the supervisor she is going to XXX to pump over her break?

 

[gandicor]

Here is an update, which is basically a new scenario and a new problem. They have been running the facility short staffed and although they are interviewing new nurses they have not hired anyone recently despite firing quite a few. They are trying to get my wife to work one more day per week, which would move her from 4 to 5 days per week. This is not an option for her, and she was actually hired for part time 3 days a week and then offered full time at four days a week. Since the facility all of a sudden needs more nurses, they are changing the requirements of full time nurses and saying that she either needs to work 5 days in a week or go per diem.

5 days a week just is not an option for here. Can they make her go per diem? I don't understand why, if they need more employees, would they put her on per diem? It is my opinion that they want to create a hostile work environment so that all of the current nursing staff quits and so they can hire new people. Regardless, shouldn't they offer to put her back to part time at 3 days per week instead of offering only full time or per diem?

We are most worried that they will make her go per diem and then offer no hours. If they are simply offering per diem as a way to remove her health benefits, than I guess we can deal with that, but if they put her on per diem and give her no hours and hope that she leaves, is that legal?

 

[Zigner]

Here is an update, which is basically a new scenario and a new problem. They have been running the facility short staffed and although they are interviewing new nurses they have not hired anyone recently despite firing quite a few. They are trying to get my wife to work one more day per week, which would move her from 4 to 5 days per week. This is not an option for her, and she was actually hired for part time 3 days a week and then offered full time at four days a week. Since the facility all of a sudden needs more nurses, they are changing the requirements of full time nurses and saying that she either needs to work 5 days in a week or go per diem.

5 days a week just is not an option for here. Can they make her go per diem? I don't understand why, if they need more employees, would they put her on per diem? It is my opinion that they want to create a hostile work environment so that all of the current nursing staff quits and so they can hire new people. Regardless, shouldn't they offer to put her back to part time at 3 days per week instead of offering only full time or per diem?

We are most worried that they will make her go per diem and then offer no hours. If they are simply offering per diem as a way to remove her health benefits, than I guess we can deal with that, but if they put her on per diem and give her no hours and hope that she leaves, is that legal?

Barring a valid employment contract or CBA, the employer is allowed to set the schedule as it sees fit.

 

[commentator]

Your opinion isn't very important in this scenario. If the employer wishes to do so, to meet their business needs, yes, they certainly can change the hours and the requirements of the job. If the new additional hours just won't work out for your wife, they are perfectly legally allowed to terminate her because she cannot work the changed hours. It would be very very difficult for you to show in any type of EEOC action or grievance that the business plan was to fire all the old employees (not just the members of a protected group, incidentally) and replace them. It doesn't sound that way from what they are doing, which is increasing the hours of the staff the do have on board right now. Sorry it doesn't meet your wife's needs at this time, but that's not really what they have to do. It would be hard to show that the reason they increased her hours was to get rid of her because of the nursing/breastfeeding issues. Especially if they're doing it across the board, increasing everyone's hours due to a shortage of staff.

If they put her on per diem and cut her hours down to nothing, she should go on and file for unemployment benefits. In effect they will have terminated her by cutting her hours down to nothing. If she is working all the hours they have available for her and those are very few, then she may be able to be approved for unemployment.

If she elects to quit because they have increased her hours and she doesn't want to work them her chances of being approved for unemployment benefits aren't great, either, though she can certainly file a claim. But if she is only available to work part time hours, that may be an issue with unemployment scenarios too. Usually they require eligibility for full time work.