Help with my boss about milk storage at work

[veronicaswimm]

I was referred to this site by a WIC representative regarding this issue. I just recently switched jobs and am having to acclamate my new coworkers and managers to a pumping schedule. At my previous restaurant job, I was allowed to put my well-concealed, insulated bag in our walk-in cooler. At this job, however, it is referred to, by my boss, as paraphenalia and I was told I am not allowed to put it anywhere near food because it is a bodily fluid. Every morning, I have to clean out a separate cooler, transferring food from one to the other just so I can have one whole cooler to store my breastmilk in. Are there any laws or is there any kind of documentation that I can slap on my new boss's desk to show him that this is ridiculous?!

[LionessMom]

referred by WIC? wow thats cool.

what state are you in? does it say anything in the workplace handbook?

that is kind of ridiculous considering everything is contained in a cooler. i mean it cant leak out. i would start with the workplace rules. every place has them right? maybe HR can help.

[ErikaS57]

Try this link:
http://www.pabreastfeeding.org/guide...humanmilk.html

These guidelines are for hospitalized infants. Human milk storage guidelines for home use are more liberal. The Center for Disease Control and OSHA (U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration) consider human milk to be food, not a body fluid. Universal precautions are not required. Use of gloves is optional and a matter of individual preference.

[anj_rn]

I would check with the food safety rules. I know some places do not allow restaurants to store anything in their coolers not meant for food prep for the restaurant (including peoples food/drinks from home). Then I could see it as legitimate. Otherwise, I would print out the statement from the CDC that says it is not bodily fluid and give it to my boss. There are laws here in TX stating employers have to allow women to pum, but nothing requiring them to help store it.

[leaves]

no help here, but just gotta say, that is RIDICULOUS! the ignorance of people.

[mnnice]

I have pumped while working for two children and have just always brought my own cooler and blue ice packs for milk storage and kept in my office space. I didn't do it to avoid rocking the boat just because the fridge in the breakroom was gross.

It doesn't sound like to you have an office, but do you have a locker or other space to store your coat. I'd just leave the cooler in there.

[calpurnia]

i'm a student without access to a fridge, so i just stored my milk in a cooler bag along with an ice pack. it always lasted the day fine before getting home & going in the fridge. might be a solution to consider although it sounds like your boss is being a muppet.

[proudmomof4]

at the "bodily fluid"... You're storing milk, not pee for crying out loud!

Your boss sure needs some education but I agree with the pp about checking the food safety rules. Otherwise it might be a lot less of a hassle to BYO cooler - even if you have to store it in your car (provided you drive to work).

[aleatha5]

What state are you in? That is pretty ridiculous. Your employer should be legally obligated to make reasonable accommodations for you. And since breastmilk isn't a "bodily fluid" you should be allowed to store it in the fridge. I mean, does he allow people to go in to the walk in cooler? Wouldn't the sweat, tears, saliva in and on a person make that "illegal" in his world? All of those are bodily fluids too. I'm assuming you don't have to suit up to go into this cooler.

[Anastasiya]

I have something similar to this:
http://www.google.com/products/catal...wAQ#ps-sellers

Bought it at Target for $34 a few years back.

I use it when I plan on being at work all day long. Otherwise, if I go home for lunch break, I just leave the milk I've pumped in my bag since it can sit at room temp for several hours anyway.

[craft_media_hero]

Could you bring a small "lunchbox" type cooler and then store that in the walk-in? That is a bunch of crap, tho. I would be pretty po'd.

[tanyalynn]

Check the milk storage guidelines at kellymom.com. Pumped human milk isn't like pasteurized milk we can get at the grocery store--it stays safe at room temp (warm from pumping, cooling to room temp) much longer than grocery store milk. Depending on how long your work days are, you may not need to refrigerate at all, or just using blue packs may be fine.

Sorry your current workplace is not more accustomed to this, and accommodating (I don't know anything about what state regs they may be subject to, and how human milk fits into that).

eta: and welcome to MDC!

[kriket]

Originally Posted by anj_rn

I would check with the food safety rules. I know some places do not allow restaurants to store anything in their coolers not meant for food prep for the restaurant (including peoples food/drinks from home). Then I could see it as legitimate.

: if there are other people's lunches in the fridge you can keep your babies lunch in there.

I used to use a cooler pack too, it worked very nicely. Less chance of walking out and leaving your milk!

and welcome to MDC!

[listipton]

Originally Posted by anj_rn

I would check with the food safety rules. I know some places do not allow restaurants to store anything in their coolers not meant for food prep for the restaurant (including peoples food/drinks from home). Then I could see it as legitimate. Otherwise, I would print out the statement from the CDC that says it is not bodily fluid and give it to my boss. There are laws here in TX stating employers have to allow women to pum, but nothing requiring them to help store it.

This. However, if your new restaurant is a Darden concept, they actually do have a 'no outside food in the restaurant' policy to prevent cross-contamination from other restaurants or homes. In there eyes, you never know what's going on in someone else's kitchen, and their internal health inspectors are very strict. When I managed for this company, I kept my milk in a cooler with ice packs to follow the policy (and yes, I made EVERYONE else follow it- mean manager!) but also because in the off-hand chance someone didn't clean something the way they were supposed to, I wasn't contaminating my milk supply either.

[2xy]

Just want to mention that most restaurant employees do not bring lunch to work. There is no place to store it....or at least, there hasn't been at any of the restaurants I've worked at. Also, most restaurant employees don't nurse for very long. The job demands long hours with a sense of urgency, and time away from the line or away from the dining room is not feasible. So, it's understandable (to me) that they aren't used to dealing with breastmilk. I'm not saying it's right, just that I "get it."

A cold pack would be your best bet, OP. Just make sure you have a secure place to put it. I work in a restaurant with dozens of other people (it's a big place) and wouldn't bring anything in that I wanted to keep for myself. Things walk off, if you KWIM.

[Malva]

I didn't refrigerate my breastmilk after reading these guidelines for freshly expressed milk. I just kept the containers in my purse until I got home:

From the Kellymom website:
Warm room 79°F / 25°C 4-6 hours
Room temperature 66-72°F / 19-22°C 10 hours
Insulated cooler / icepacks 60°F / 15°C 24 hours

[Belle]

Originally Posted by 2xy

Just want to mention that most restaurant employees do not bring lunch to work. There is no place to store it....or at least, there hasn't been at any of the restaurants I've worked at. Also, most restaurant employees don't nurse for very long. The job demands long hours with a sense of urgency, and time away from the line or away from the dining room is not feasible. So, it's understandable (to me) that they aren't used to dealing with breastmilk. I'm not saying it's right, just that I "get it."

I managed a restaurant for 11 years. For employee lunches we had a large labeled rubbermaid container with a lid in the walkin so that employee food would be kept seperate from restaurant food. That sufficed for breastmilk too. I would keep my breast milk in a lunch bag in that container. I pumped and stored breastmilk until my oldest baby was 13 months old. She breastfed until she was 2.5 years.

[2xy]

Originally Posted by Belle

I managed a restaurant for 11 years. For employee lunches we had a large labeled rubbermaid container with a lid in the walkin so that employee food would be kept seperate from restaurant food. That sufficed for breastmilk too. I would keep my breast milk in a lunch bag in that container. I pumped and stored breastmilk until my oldest baby was 13 months old. She breastfed until she was 2.5 years.

That's wonderful! I've worked at seven restaurants in three different states, from independently owned to chain, from upscale to casual, and that has not been the case at any of them. Just saying. I live on the east coast. It might be a regional thing.

[Belle]

Originally Posted by 2xy

That's wonderful! I've worked at seven restaurants in three different states, from independently owned to chain, from upscale to casual, and that has not been the case at any of them. Just saying. I live on the east coast. It might be a regional thing.

It could be a regional thing. Here on the West coast for an 8 hour shift you get a 30 minute lunch and 2 ten minute breaks. I've heard of restaurant workers in other states not even getting a 2 minute break to pee let alone getting a lunch break. In Oregon pumping breaks are now protected by law. This was not the case when I was pumping for my oldest but was handy for my youngest. I was driving a bus while pumping for her. My employer bent over backwords to follow the law.

[2xy]

Well, I've only ever served in a restaurant. It's not often that a server is scheduled for an 8-hour shift, IME. Our lunch shifts run roughly 11am-5pm (if you're the closing crew and haven't been cut), and our dinner shifts run 5-11:30 on weeknights, 5-1am on weekends. Breaks? When would we take them? If I'm not at my tables, I lose money. Sure, breaks are "required" by law, but I don't know any server (anywhere) who gets scheduled breaks. The cooks and the dishwashers do. I've picked up doubles on the weekend where I've worked for 12-13 hours straight and didn't sit down at all but to take a pee break or two, and ate my food a bite at a time in between serving duties, standing in a corner of the kitchen. That's the life of waitstaff.