Return to Work & Breastfeeding Accommodations

[vickyp]

#89799

Forum: Community

Hello,

We have a return-to-work policy, where employees are required to return to the office two days a week. We have an employee who is returning from mat leave early, her little one is about 4 months old. She is unable to move them to a bottle and is requesting to work from home for 9 months, so that the baby can be brought to her when they need to eat. Does the employer have an obligation from an accommodation perspective to support this request? Is there anything we should consider before approving or denying this request.

[vickyp]

#90266

There is nothing in the law that forces you to accommodate this request; there are legal protections, however, that require you to accommodate breastfeeding in the workplace, such as allowing for breaks, providing a safe and secure place, etc.
Given the case as you have described it, what with the employee returning from mat leave early, it would seem like a very easy “give” to accept this 9 month WFH agreement – especially seeing as you are already hybrid.
You should consider the ergonomics of you employees home office, as well as potential privacy issues that could arise during Zoom calls, etc. If, say, you have a policy that all conference calls require employees to turn on their webcam, you may want to carve out some exceptions for this employee to protect her privacy.

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