 |
|
|
Florida Breastfeeding Coalition's Toolkit
|
The following can be opened and printed to share with employers.
The following is information for the breastfeeding employee.
|
|
Helpful Working Mother Web Sites
|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
|
Help Working Families Stay Healthy: Support Breastfeeding Mothers
Tell Your Congressperson to Co-Sponsor H.R. 2236
Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2007
Only a few states have working mother laws to address the needs of the breastfeeding mother in the workplace. Florida does not have workplace protection laws to protect breastfeeding working mothers in the workplace. If more people encourage their congressperson to support the Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2007, there would be little need for individual states to have workplace laws for breastfeeding working mothers. Please contact your congressperson or go to the site above and sign the e-mail to support the Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2007.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ILCA Position Paper on Breastfeeding and Working 12-08
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MomsRising is working to bring together millions of people who share a common concern about the need to build a more family-friendly America. Started in May of 2006, MomsRising has gained over 140,000 citizen members and is rapidly growing. More than 85 national and state organizations have signed on to be aligned with MomsRising.
Their members are bringing important motherhood and family issues to the forefront of the country's awareness. We are working to create both cultural and legislative change. It is time to break the logjam that has been holding back family-friendly legislation for decades and to advance workplace policies that will support families. MomsRising offers easy entry into citizen advocacy and is bringing the power of online organizing to motherhood and family issues.
READ: Senator Merkley's
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LA Restaurant Fined $46,645 for Firing Breastfeeding Mom
Jesus Acosta, the owner LA taqueria Acosta Tacos, was ordered on Tuesday to
pay $46,645 to a former employee for unfair termination after learning that
the employee had breastfed her infant in her car during her break time at
the restaurant. This abhorrent violation of the employee's rights, along
with the recent ruling, set a precedent that bodes well for breastfeeding
moms in California. The California Department of Fair Employment and
Housing (DFEH), the agency that ruled on the case, found Acosta liable for
sex discrimination, retaliation, and failure to prevent discrimination.
Acosta was ordered to pay his former employee $21,645.00 in lost wages plus
$20,000.00 as compensation for her emotional suffering. An additional
$5,000 fine is to be paid to the state's General Fund as an administrative
fine. Phyllis Cheng, Director of the DFEH, said that "[The employee]
suffered an egregious violation of her civil rights that is not tolerated in
California...It is unconscionable that a working mother should be penalized
for needing to feed her newborn baby, and the law ensures that her rights
are protected." This ruling sends the message to all employers and
employees in California that the state's laws regarding workplace lactation
must be followed.
|
|
|
A Business Case
for Breastfeeding
|
|
|
PDF
|
|
|
PDF
|
|
|
PDF
|
|
|
PDF
|
|
|
PDF
|
|
|
PDF
|
|
|
PDF
|
|
|
PDF
|
Companies that provide time and space for women to express their milk when they are in the workplace and apart from their babies have been proven to enjoy significant cost savings, including:
Lower Rates of Absenteeism
When babies are sick less often, parents require fewer days of sick leave to care for them. One-day absences occur more than twice as often for mothers of formula fed infants (Cohen 1995).
Lower Health Care Costs
When babies are healthier, workplaces save on health care costs and medical claims. One study of employees found that for every 1,000 babies not breastfed, there were 2,033 excess physician visits, 212 excess hospitalization days, and 609 excess prescriptions for three illness alone --ear infections and respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses--(Ball 1999). Another study showed that among employees' infants who were never sick, 86 percent were breastfed (Cohen 1994).
Better Retention of Employees
Businesses that provide employee lactation support programs can enjoy a reduction in their turnover rates of women who do not return to work after maternity leave. One company estimated a savings of $75,000 per employee who returned to work after childbirth (EEO Trust 2001).
Higher Productivity and Company Loyalty
Companies that provide a supportive environment for breastfeeding employees may find that employees are more productive and committed to the organization (Galtry 1997).
|
|
Request Breastfeeding Working Mother Testimonies
|
FLORIDA presently has NO LAWS or legislation to support breastfeeding mothers in the workplace. The Florida Breastfeeding Coalition is actively collecting testimonies of breastfeeding working mothers' challenges in the workplace. These testimonies will be used to help persuade Florida lawmakers of the necessity of a workplace and breastfeeding law. The Coalition is particularly interested in testimonies of mothers who have met with barriers, hardships or discrimination, which resulted in not being able to pump in the workplace to provide milk for their baby or the loss of their job. As well the Coalition would like to hear about success in the workplace if an employer has demonstrated exceptional support of breastfeeding mothers in the workplace. Please e-mail testimonies to office@flbreastfeeding.org Please include contact information with testimony.
STATES WHICH DO HAVE BREASTFEEDING WORKPLACE LAWS:
|
