Minnesota fines Menards for penalizing employee for pumping breast milk

The state of Minnesota has fined the Menards hardware chain for docking a Fridley worker's pay 103 times for taking breaks to pump breast milk and then retaliating against her for complaining.

In announcing a consent order Tuesday, the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) said it is requiring Menards to pay the woman back wages and compensatory damages.

Menards reached an agreement with DLI on Dec. 5, saying it will comply with the state's 2014 Women's Economic Security Act in all Minnesota stores and warehouses — including allowing "reasonable break time" for breastfeeding mothers — and will pay $15,000 in administrative penalties.

Half of those penalties could be waived depending on the firm's compliance with the signed consent order, state officials said.

"Workers should not have to choose between expressing milk for their child and getting paid or keeping their job," DLI Commissioner Nicole Blissenbach said in a statement.

Managers at Menards' Fridley store declined to comment. Jeff Abbott, spokesman for Eau Claire, Wis.-based Menards, said he was aware of Minnesota's order but could not immediately comment.

DLI investigated the worker's complaint and found the Menards store in Fridley violated state labor laws between Dec. 1, 2022, and May 21, 2023. Investigators said, among violations, the store suspended the employee for three days when she spoke up for her rights.

Posters of the rights of nursing workers, as well as a copy of the signed consent order, must be posted in each of Menards' Minnesota stores. The company also must perform a statewide audit to find out if other mothers beyond the Fridley store had wages docked for taking a break to pump milk.

The company also must update its policy handbook to include state laws regarding the expressing of milk, pregnancy accommodations and parental leave, Blissenbach said.

The DLI found complaints against employers regarding both parental leave and nursing rose from 180 intake cases to 327 last year.

Examples of violations found: One child care center refused a worker breaks to pump milk because of her child's age; a nursing home employer stopped scheduling shifts after a worker requested a pregnancy accommodation; and an insurance firm denied pregnancy leave because the worker had only been employed for seven months.

The Minnesota Legislature expanded protections for working mothers in 2022 and again last year.

In 2022, Minnesota employers were no longer allowed to reduce women's pay for taking breaks to pump milk. In 2023, employers could no longer require women to pump milk only during the company's assigned lunch period or during one of the company's two regularly scheduled 15-minute breaks.

Instead, the woman's body would decide when she pumped. Also new laws at the state and federal level require companies to provide lactation spaces that are clean, private and secure — and not a restroom.

In Minnesota, workplaces now have to notify all workers of the rights of pregnant and nursing workers when hired.

Nicole Truso, a partner and workplace employment attorney at Faegre Drinker, said she expects Minnesota's DLI to fine more employers for breaking the law.

"Pre-2022, the law was pretty generic. But in 2022 and 2023, there were some pretty big changes to the law. And it's possible that employers have not noted the change," Truso said. "This is one of those areas that we think will be a high priority for the agencies investigating these claims. Because they want to take a stand on these new laws."

Many retailers and manufacturing outfits try to maintain exacting worker schedules so they always have coverage of the cash register or production line, she said. The new laws will require employers to make arrangements for those situations while not penalizing workers in the process.

The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) is helping to educate employers about federal pregnancy fairness laws and best practices for accommodating workers. In most cases, employers have a 10-day grace period to comply with new federal pump laws, said SHRM expert Catherine Cano, who is an attorney with Jackson Lewis in Omaha, Neb.

Nursing mothers who are denied breaks or face paycheck hurdles over breaks can sue their employers, according to the federal law, SHRM officials have said. Employers can also face fines.