You Make The Call: Nursing mom told frequent pumping was a big problem

“We tried really hard to accommodate Belinda when she needed to pump breast milk,” said Supervisor Margie Brunton. “However, she had an inflexible schedule for pumping.”

“Belinda says she needed to pump breast milk once every three hours because if she waited any longer, she would experience pain and blockages,” said HR Manager Alan Frankel. “She’s suing us for sex discrimination, claiming that we provided scheduling flexibility to other staff members who didn’t need to pump breast milk.”

“Other non-nursing workers did have more scheduling flexibility,” said Margie, “but Belinda’s job required her to be at her workstation at certain times.”

“Belinda says we could’ve asked a coworker to cover for her while she was pumping,” said Alan.

“We couldn’t just pluck someone from another location and drop the person at Belinda’s workstation,” said Margie. “Her coworkers had their own jobs to perform.”

“According to Belinda,” said Alan, “the inflexible scheduling wasn’t the only discrimination she endured. She says she felt like she was walking on eggshells every time she had to ask for a break to pump milk. She claims that her manager told her the frequent pumping was a big problem.”

“Unfortunately, it was difficult to provide Belinda with the scheduling flexibility she needed,” said Margie. “Worse, we were forced to terminate her when she twice abandoned her workstation to pump breast milk. Her dismissal for job abandonment was justified. We should challenge this lawsuit.”

Did the company win?

No. The company lost. The court said the woman proved that she might have been treated less favorably because of her sex.

While the organization allowed crew members who weren’t pumping breast milk to take breaks as needed, it refused to let a nursing mother go on breaks when she had to, which was potential proof of sex discrimination.

The employer was also inflexible, said the judge, because it refused to assign someone else to cover for the woman when she needed to pump milk. And the company wouldn’t switch her to a different job with more scheduling flexibility.

The frequent comments by the woman’s supervisor that it was a big problem to let her pump milk didn’t help the company’s case.

What it means: Consider all your staffing options

When it comes to accommodating nursing mothers, it’s important to be as flexible as possible. In this case, the employer refused to assign a coworker to cover for the woman when she needed to pump. And the company wouldn’t transfer the staff member to a position with more scheduling flexibility.

Of course you don’t have unlimited staffing levels that allow you to willy-nilly move people around to cover for others, but it’s always in your best interest to consider all your options before refusing to let a nursing mother take breaks to pump breast milk.

Based on Weaver v. GAT Airline Ground Support.

(From the October 3, 2025, issue of HR Manager’s Legal Alert for Supervisors. To start your no-obligation trial subscription to the publication right now, please click here.)