Help! No place to pump at work - violation of law

[@llli*jenna562]

To answer my question, I'm glad I live in CA!

[@llli*bfwmomof3]

No, unfortunately they are not required to follow it for their exempt workers. However, just being under 50 employees is not enough to exempt the company unless it would provide an undue hardship.

[@llli*jenna562]

Right and because UH opt outs are fairly easy to prove IME with FMLA, I'm glad that I live in CA because I them rely on state law.

[@llli*bfwmomof3]

Right and because UH opt outs are fairly easy to prove IME with FMLA, I'm glad that I live in CA because I them rely on state law.

Yup, you should definitely be glad about that!

[@llli*jenna562]

But back to the OP, we established that if she is exempt, federal law may not protect her, however she may be protected by the NY code sited in your OP, however as with all codes it's important to not just rely on reading one, and a NY attorney may have a broader understanding of the applicability of the code. Maybe document her efforts in writing, write a letter to HR and if she still gets push back, call around for a local knowledgeable wage and hour/ employement attny.

[@llli*bfwmomof3]

The federal law does state that state law supersedes it, so if the New York law offers better protection, than that one takes precedence.

[@llli*babygirl05]

Jenna, http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs73.htm
It covers ppl who are covered under FSLA.
I assume it's because exempt employees are not supposed to be treated like hourly employees (but IME a lot of times we are)
If it were me and I really needed the job, I wouldnt cause too much of a stink about it...They DID provide her with a location that is not a bathroom. If ppl are walking in, well, than that's the part that needs to be addressed, with a lock or sign or something.

[@llli*elizabethr]

I have a similar situation in that there is just no possible private place for me to use. Here is what I do, it may help. I use a storage room/someones office that people teachers come in and out of all the time. I put a sign on the door that says "Baby Care in Progress". For me I didn't want it to state I was pumping, because I work at a school, I didn't want it to be obvious to the kids. Anyway, in addition, I wear a nursing cover when I pump. That way, if people really need in the room, after seeing the sign, they usually knock, and I can make sure I'm covered up. The men tend to completly avoid it if I'm there and the woman are mostly OK with it. It works for me, but I know not everyone would be happy with this situation. I have lots of other laws that protect me here, so for me I am not going to fight about this, you know? Oh, also, I think my cousin has uses a room with no lock, so she just brings a door stopper/wedge and wedges it closed from the inside. That could work too. Hope that gives her some ideas while she is working it out with HR.