MIAMI – A woman alleges she was terminated after returning from maternity leave because she had to take breaks to pump milk.
Julia Gerstman filed a complaint on April 14 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Jorge M. Perez Art Museum of Miami-Dade County Inc. alleging that the defendant violated the Florida Civil Rights Act (FCRA), Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 and the Fair Labor Standards Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on Sept. 8, 2015, she returned to work after a maternity leave and was a nursing mother that needed to express breast milk while working. Plaintiff claims she was treated differently by her female supervisors and was frequently reprimanded for taking breaks to express breast milk for her nursing child. Plaintiff alleges she complained to her supervisor and human resource management about the situation and was later terminated on April 26, 2016.
The plaintiff holds Jorge M. Perez Art Museum of Miami-Dade County Inc. responsible because the defendant allegedly failed to provide plaintiff with the same reasonable accommodations it would provide to other temporarily disabled employees, failed to provide reasonable break time to express breast milk for plaintiff's nursing child and disregarded her protected rights under the FCRA.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment for all front wages until plaintiff becomes 65 years of age, award of compensatory damages, costs of action, attorneys' fees and such additional relief as the court deems just and proper. She is represented by Peter M. Hoogerwoerd and Nathaly Lewis of Remer and Georges-Pierre PLLC in Miami.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Case number 1:17-cv-21406-RNS