HR: Helping New Moms Return to the Workplace
An apparel company in Vermont has an office staff of 33 employees-- 18 of them are currently pregnant. A Baltimore, Maryland company had 10 babies born to women employees in the past 2 years. (Out of 93 total employees) Many would say that we are in the middle of an "office" baby boom!
The proportion of pregnant women in the labor force is on an upward trend. Currently 61% of new mothers are in the workforce. With this boom- comes a whole new set of challenges for employers. For companies that address these challenges in advance, though, there may also be rewards. Companies that deliberately try to retain their "new mom" employees with flexible polices are able to lure women back with minimal maternity leave time, foster company loyalty and heighten their ability to attract skilled recruits.
One of the challenges that businesses may want to address in advance, is to provide these "nursing moms" with a reasonable amount of break time for nursing or expressing breast milk. Recently there was much chatter in the news about the lawsuit against Isotoner for firing one of their employees for taking unauthorized breaks to pump breast milk. According to the lawsuit, the employee was fired for "failure to follow directions". Four hours into her shifts, this nursing mom was taking much needed breaks to express breast milk. (Most moms need 15-20 minutes every 2 to 3 hours.) She sued for discrimination based on pregnancy or a related condition. She did not win her case. The courts ruled in favor of Isotoner.
Most would agree that the firing of this Isotoner employee was unjust, unreasonable and uncaring! (And a bad public relations move.) Unfortunately, it was not illegal. Although there are a few states that have adopted policies to accommodate breastfeeding women, there are currently no federal laws offering protection. Breastfeeding moms often face difficult choices if unable to express milk at work. Some may have to choose to stop breastfeeding, some may have to take longer maternity leave and others may quit their job all together.
The good news is there is now proposed federal legislation on the books. The Breastfeeding Promotion Act (BPA) would guarantee working mothers the right to breast feed (or express breast milk) at their workplaces. The act would require employers (for up to one year) to provide reasonable breaks to lactating employees, as well a put forth reasonable effort to supply a private place to pump.
Lets' keep our fingers crossed that this legislation is passed so that new moms can get the support needed to more easily transition back to the workplace and employers can be rewarded with improved retention rates!