In order to feed her six-month-old baby, waitress Kristen Joseph must pump breast milk around the clock, even on the job. It's an awkward but common and necessary practice for working moms who can't be physically attached to their hungry child 24 hours a day, and federal law guarantees them the right to “a reasonable break time” to nurse in a place other than a bathroom that is “shielded from view and free from intrusion from co-workers and the public.”
Tell that to management at Hennessey's Tavern in Seal Beach, where Joseph is a server. The 28-year-old tells KTLA that she had asked the on-duty manager for the keys to the office, her regular nursing spot, but was told no. According to Joseph, he told her that nursing in the restaurant was “disgusting” no matter where she did it–in the bathroom or an office.
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As KTLA describes it, though Joseph was allowed to leave, she had tables to tend to and paperwork to do, and decided to complete her shift with “her breast milk leaking through her shirt.” Moms who've experienced this know it's awfully painful to have ticking time bombs for boobs. Joseph said she was “freaking out and crying.”
A manager at Hennessey's Tavern could not be immediately reached, but the restaurant's corporate office is reportedly investigating the incident.
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