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A former blood donation center employee is suing the American National Red Cross, alleging it flouted federal law by making it nearly impossible for her to take lactation breaks.
Plaintiff Hallie Becht, who was employed at an Evansville blood donation center, says the organization violated the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act in part by overbooking donor appointments, which kept her from taking regular lactation breaks, according to her lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.
The American National Red Cross did not immediately respond to The Indiana Lawyer’s request for comment.
Becht was in charge of collecting apheresis platelets, a process that required donors being on a bed for extended periods of time. Those donors required constant monitoring. Overbooking donors also required staff members to forgo their breaks, according to the lawsuit.
Becht alleges that when she asked a person identified only as “The Supervisor” for a lactation break, she was met with hostility.
“The Supervisor reacted with visible annoyance, treated her breaks as an inconvenience to workflow, and belittled her in front of coworkers and donors,” the lawsuit states.
Naiasha Hutchinson, who worked as a charge nurse and team lead, noticed the supervisor’s alleged treatment of Becht. Hutchinson emailed Red Cross management on Oct. 12, 2024, according to the lawsuit.
Red Cross officials later met with Becht and discussed a wellness room she could use for pumping breast milk, the lawsuit states. However, the lawsuit alleges that Becht’s working conditions did not change, and she was still unable to take regular breaks.
Becht emailed Red Cross officials on Nov. 4, 2024, after working from 10:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. without a meal break, according to the lawsuit.
“That evening Plaintiff emailed members of Red Cross management and others under the subject ‘Issues with pumping.’ She reported that she ‘received no help from my supervisor when I stated I need to go pump,’ that she was ‘tired of feeling belittled,’ and that she ‘can’t just step off the floor when I have two platelets on the bed,’” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit says Becht resigned shortly afterward. It says she “was left to choose between expressing milk as her body and her child
required and keeping her job.”
Becht is suing the American Red Cross under the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act. She wants the Red Cross to adopt policies that allow nursing employees at its Evansville location to take lactation breaks. She seeks either front pay or reinstatement to her former position, damages and coverage of attorney fees.
The case is Becht v. The American National Red Cross, 3:26-CV-00265
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