WASHINGTON, July 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Several United States Postal Service workers are bringing claims against USPS for failing to provide sufficient break times and private, secure, and sanitary spaces where they could pump breast milk.
Congress passed the PUMP Act to require employers to provide reasonable break times and a private, secure (non-bathroom) location for employees to pump breast milk.
The Complaint alleges that USPS has repeatedly refused to provide mothers, who assure the delivery of mail in our country, appropriate breaks and space to pump. For example:
- USPS kicked one of its employees out of the building, screaming at her for daring to request time to pump, called the police, and tried to suspend her for seven days after she said she wouldn’t be available to work on a machine at a certain time because she’d be pumping.
- USPS forced other employees to pump in the back of their non-airconditioned trucks used to deliver mail in unsanitary conditions parked in public places with the door slightly ajar to avoid overheating. Upon asking for an alternative location, the supervisor of one of these employees told her she could use a locker room surrounded by other employees or a bathroom stall.
- Another employee was only permitted to pump in a locker room every morning where others would make faces and comment, and her supervisor refused to let her hang a sheet for privacy or use an available office to pump.
- In another instance, a supervisor required an employee to provide a doctor’s note to pump beyond 15 minutes without penalty.
“Congress passed the PUMP Act to make certain that American companies are honoring the rights and needs of breastfeeding employees,” said Aaron Siri of Siri & Glimstad, LLP, one of the attorneys representing the employees. “USPS has a responsibility to comply with this law, and we are confident that the court will find in favor of the mothers USPS has wronged.”
The case against USPS is pending in federal court in Washington, D.C. Aaron Siri, Mason Barney, and Oren Faircloth of Siri & Glimstad represent the plaintiffs.
SOURCE Siri & Glimstad LLP