- July 26, 2024
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The Hammock Beach Golf Resort and Spa violated labor protections by not providing a private space for an employee to pump breast milk and overworking its 14- and 15-year-old employees, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
The resort is being fined $6,800 in civil penalties, a press release from the Department of Labor said. The Fair Labor Standards Act outlines protections for employees, including restrictions on when and how much minors can work and rights for new mothers.
The investigation by the department's Wage and Hour division found that it took the resort four months to find a place for a new mother to pump breast milk at work, the press release said. She was eventually offered the use of a manager's office. That space, however, was not private, and another worker at one point entered the room while the mother was attempting to pump milk.
The resort also issued a "written counseling" for the employee when she left her workplace without permission to find a private place to express breast milk.
The FSLA requires employers to provide reasonable break time to express breast milk for one year after a child's birth, according to the Department of Labor's website. Employees are entitled to a private place, "shielded from view and free from intrusion" to do so, other than a bathroom.
During the investigation, the Department of Labor also found that the resort employs eight 14 and 15-year-old children who were working more than the legal limitations allow.
The eight children were working "more than three hours on a school day, more than eight hours on a non-school day, more than 40 hours in a week when school was not in session and past 7 p.m. on school nights," the press release said.
