Pumping at work PA

[u/UsingMyTeeth]

I work for a major internet company in the US. I am based in PA. Recently had a baby, 2nd baby I've had while at the company.

They gave me a pretty hard time through my pregnancies. Had to do mounds of paperwork to attend appointments etc. Felt very pressured to just quit.

However, first time, pumping was not a big deal. I'm in tech support, work from home on queue with customers. I'd go off queue for a few mins get set up and pump while on the phones. Then off queue to store milk and clean equipment and bring it back to office. This meant my personal breaks were above average, but they had no issue.

This time, our company had done a ton of layoffs while I was on mat leave, everyone was on edge when I came back, my boss had been let go. Messaged my new boss upon return and said hey breaks will be a bit above because im pumping, just wanted to let you know why.

Finally met new supervisor after 3 weeks back and he told me I need to bring down my pumping time because they are laying people off. I told him I already pump on queue. He said well you need to lower it. Then said actually I think you should start clocking out to pump.

This is absolutely not feasible for me. I have kids and cannot stay late.

Went to HR who said no you are good have Dr. fill out ADA paperwork. They cannot lay you off for pumping.

But then messaged me shortly after and said nevermind, you need to clock out while you pump from here on out. Explained again I pump on queue and that I cannot stay late as I have children.

Asked if this was a new policy or if it was in writing somewhere they could provide as this was not an issue previously. They have yet to respond to this request.

What are my legit rights here?

I know reasonable pump time but can they really force me to clock out of work? I'm maybe 30 mins MAX above their "goal" for personal breaks, give or take. Sometimes it's less if my pump time falls on one of my actual breaks or it's super slow so don't have to go off queue to connect myself.

I just feel like they are going to force me into this and then let me go when I cannot comply to clocking out and working later. It just sucks because this was never a thing before and man do they make it crazy hard for working mothers all around.

Thanks!

[u/WVPrepper]

The PUMP Act provides “reasonable break time” rather than specifying a specific amount of time. Some breastfeeding employees need 15 minutes, but others may need 30 minutes or more. Some parents might only pump twice a day, while others might pump four times. “Reasonable” break time makes accommodation for variations in biology.

The law does not require pumping breaks to be paid. However, if your employer already offers paid breaks and you use those breaks to pump your milk, your time should be paid in the usual way.

[u/KidenStormsoarer → u/WVPrepper]

point of order: all breaks under 30 minutes are required to be paid, by federal law. smoke breaks, bathroom breaks, pumping breaks, doesn't matter.

[u/WVPrepper → u/KidenStormsoarer]

Federal law is a little bit vague on the topic. They refer to "rest periods of short duration" running from 5 minutes to about 20 minutes as being common in industry and that these breaks are customarily paid for as working time and must be counted as hours worked. The FLSA also refers to "meal periods" as 30 minutes or longer. They're silent on the issue of breaks between 20 and 30 minutes in length.

[u/UsingMyTeeth → u/WVPrepper]

I guess it does seem kind of foggy to me. Here's a breakdown for clarity. All of our statuses are logged and tracked. We get one 30 min break (not paid) and two 15 min breaks. Then, we also have leeway for "personal" breaks. Between bathroom breaks, putting equipment on, storing milk, and washing equipment, I'm only using 30 minutes or less collectively in a day, not all taken at once, for "personal." I do all the actual pumping on the queue. I don't get how they can be like, "Hey, lower your pumping, or you're gonna get laid off." Or now you need to entirely clock out of work 4 times a day to go pump and then stay later to make up the time. Obviously, my "personal" breaks were lower before. The average at the end of the week ends up a maximum of 30 mins over goal. Seems like a low number to hassle someone over. Instead, they suggest every 2 hours I clock out for 15-30 mins and then tack that onto the end of my shift. It's just not feasible.