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Dispute Raises Questions About How Employers Accommodate Breastfeeding Moms

A story in the Boston Globe this week highlighted the difficulties employees and workplaces sometimes face when it comes to policies around breastfeeding. 

Kate Frederick worked for the Department of Health and Human Services in Conway when she gave birth to her son Devon in 2012. Following her maternity leave, Frederick says she and the department had agreed on the hours for a part-time schedule, but she says the office refused her request for additional break time to breastfeed her son offsite, which she said was necessary because the baby wouldn’t take milk from a bottle.

Frederick claims she lost her job after she stayed home from work over the issue, and she’s now filed a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.  A spokesperson for DHHS declined to comment today, because of the pending litigation.

Kate Frederick talks with All Things Considered host Brady Carlson.

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