Friday, August 28, 2009

Six-figure fine for firing breastfeeding mother

A Los Angeles taqueria owner will have to pay over $46,000 for firing a cashier worker because she used her break time to breastfeed her premature baby in her car.

The Department of Fair Employment and Housing Commission found Jesus Acosta, owner of Acosta Tacos, liable for sex discrimination, retaliation and failure to prevent discrimination.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the commission ordered Acosta to pay Marina Chavez $21,645 for lost wages and $20,000 for emotional distress, as well as a $5,000 civil rights violation fine to the state of California.

California law requires employers to provide breastfeeding employees a reasonable break time to do so, unless a break would seriously disrupt the employer's operations. California mothers can also breastfeed anywhere, public or private.

Find out your state's breastfeeding laws here. Read about New York's new Breastfeeding Mother's Bill of Rights here.

This is the first state case where denying the right to breastfeed was ruled as sex discrimination.

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