STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. – Stellantis is making changes at its Sterling Heights plant following an investigation by the Department of Labor.
The automaker is accused of denying a nursing mother access to a lactation room and allegedly required nursing moms to show a doctor’s note and the baby’s birth certificate before using a lactation room.
Nursing moms who work at the Stellantis plant in Sterling Heights received a victory after the automaker said they would add lactation rooms and ament its break policy.
Last year the wage and hour division started looking into several allegations. The first was a plant worker pumping breast milk on the factory floor after being denied access to the assembly plant’s lactation rooms.
The second is that Stellantis required nursing moms to submit a doctor’s note and the baby’s birth certificate to access lactation rooms.
Division investigators found the Stellantis plant did not have enough lactation rooms forcing nursing mothers to wait up to 20 minutes for an available room.
Some had to pump breast milk in the community shower area. At the time of the investigation, at least 19 nursing mothers shared access to four individual lactation rooms.
“The outcome of this investigation and Stellantis’ changes at its Sterling Heights assembly plant will have a significant impact on current and future nursing mothers by removing barriers that make it difficult to balance their child’s nutritional needs with their workplace duties,” said Wage and Hour Division Director Timolin Mitchell in Detroit.
By law, employers must provide a reasonable amount of break time and a location so that nursing mothers can pump breast milk.
In a statement to Local 4, Stellantis said:
“Employee health and wellness is a top priority for Stellantis. We continually assess the need for additional dedicated lactation rooms in each of our locations. We are committed to providing a private, comfortable place for women to express milk.”
The UAW did not comment.
