Kroger faces FMLA, PUMP Act lawsuit after allegedly transferring employee returning from parental leave

Dive Brief:

• A Kroger HR department is at the center of a lawsuit filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern Indiana District, alleging violations of the PUMP Act and the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, among others.
• A former assistant store manager for the grocer alleged she was denied use of available time off before her upcoming leave for childbirth — despite similarly situated male employees being allowed to take time off. 
• She also allegedly faced unsavory pumping conditions and negative comments about her pumping. After the plaintiff said she complained to district HR, she was transferred to a different store, 37 miles away in an allegedly dangerous area.

Dive Insight:

The plaintiff alleged that these actions were retaliation for exercising her Family and Medical Leave Act rights. The FMLA protects the jobs of eligible expecting employees who can’t work due to pregnancy conditions. 

She alleged that Kroger management violated the PWFA, which requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth and related conditions. The plaintiff also alleged violations of the PUMP Act, which requires employers to not just provide reasonable break time for expressing breast milk but also a private space other than a bathroom to pump. 

A lack of proper accommodations for pumping have been the crux of several lawsuits since the PUMP Act took effect. Workers have brought suits alleging they were forced to express breastmilk in hot cars and unlocked stockrooms, or in mail trucks and break rooms where co-workers were present.

The Kroger employee alleged she was only permitted to pump in bathroom stalls, a security room with cameras, a glass office and a closet without any lights. 

Additionally, when the plaintiff returned to work, an assistant manager told her that storing her breast milk in the refrigerator was “disgusting,” according to court documents. 

Best practices for nursing workers, according to professionals who advocate for working parents, include a lactation room with comfortable chairs for pumping and a fridge to store breastmilk.