Maryland teacher demoted after breastfeeding request denied

Maryland teacher demoted over request for breaks to pump breast milk

A local teacher says she was demoted after requesting to pump breast milk at work, a move she describes as both heartbreaking and disappointing. FOX 5's Katie Barlow has the story.

BRYANTOWN, Md. - A local teacher says she was demoted after requesting to pump breast milk at work, a move she describes as both heartbreaking and disappointing.

Katelynn Wolff, who returned to her job at St. Mary's School in Bryantown last January after the birth of her daughter, Paisley, in May, chose to breastfeed for financial and health reasons. However, when she notified her school of her need to pump during the workday, she said the response was far from supportive.

"I fought back," Wolff said. "I said, ‘Listen, this doesn't work with my body. It's gonna make me sick. It's gonna make me call out more. It's gonna make me lose my supply. I know what's best for my body, and that's not it.’"

According to Wolff, the school offered her an ultimatum: follow the schedule they provided or take a demotion to teacher aide, which would allow her more flexibility to pump. Faced with the prospect of losing her job, Wolff opted for the demotion.

Federal law requires most employers to provide reasonable break time and a private, clean space — other than a bathroom — for nursing mothers to pump breast milk.

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The PUMP Act, signed by President Joe Biden in 2022, expanded these protections to more employees, including teachers, registered nurses, and farmworkers, and allows employees to sue employers who violate these rights.

Despite these protections, Wolff says she was left with no choice but to give up her position as a first-grade teacher, a job she had long dreamed of holding at the school where she was once a student.

"It was super sad because it was obviously a school that I grew up in," Wolff said. "I attended K through 8th there. I am Catholic myself. I wanted to raise my daughter there and have her go to school there as well. Just the lack of support for mothers... it’s ridiculous."

Wolff has since filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the federal agency responsible for handling discrimination claims of this nature.

In response, a spokesperson for St. Mary's School in Bryantown issued a brief statement: "St. Mary's School in Bryantown is committed to supporting our nursing mother employees. As this is an ongoing legal matter, we have no additional comment to provide."