DaytonDailyNews.com

The Ohio Supreme Court is to hear oral arguments, Wednesday, March 11, on whether a Butler County company discriminated against an employee by firing her for taking unscheduled restroom breaks to pump breast milk.

LaNisa Allen, a former general laborer at a Totes/Isotoner Corp. warehouse in West Chester, is suing the company, saying it engaged in illegal gender discrimination by denying her extra restroom breaks to relieve pain caused by breast milk engorgement. She said other Totes workers weren't required to seek permission for extra restroom breaks to relieve discomfort from menstrual symptoms or the need for frequent urination.

Allen's attorneys say it's gender discrimination because she was fired to relieve discomfort due to lactation, a condition exclusive to women.

Totes, which prevailed against Allen in a 2008 trial and a subsequent appeal, argues that the company didn't discriminate because breastfeeding doesn't legally constitute an illness or medical condition. The company says there is legal precedent showing that employers don't have to give extra breaks to breastfeeding women.

Allen, who was hired as a temporary worker through an employment agency, said she began taking the extra breaks at 10 a.m. after she found her 10-minute scheduled break at 8 a.m. was too short and she couldn't stand to wait until her 11 a.m. lunch break.

About two weeks after she started taking the breaks, an agency supervisor came into the restroom and told Allen she was breaking workplace rules. She was fired by a Totes supervisor that afternoon.

Totes/Isotoner attorney Timothy P. Reilly declined to comment.