Teacher accuses Horry principal of refusing to allow her to pump breast milk at school
An elementary school teacher is suing her principal and Horry County Schools district for refusing to provide her regular breaks to pump breast milk so she could continue to breastfeed her child.
Wendy Savoca filed a lawsuit Feb. 15 against the school district and River Oaks Elementary School Principal Rene Cazier alleging that they violated her federal rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978.
When asked to comment on the lawsuit, spokesperson Lisa Bourcier said by email that Horry County Schools does not comment on matters related to pending litigation.
Savoca filed a charge of unlawful employment practices with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against the district on Nov. 9, 2022. According to the suit, the school district failed to respond to the EEOC or participate in the investigation of the allegations.
Savoca was a library media specialist at River Oaks, located at 7000 Augusta Plantation Drive in the Myrtle Beach area, from 2016 until she transferred to another school in June 2023.
She gave birth to a son on Nov. 29, 2020, and was on maternity leave until Jan. 13, 2021. When she returned to work, she provided a doctor’s note requesting that she be allowed reasonable breaks to express milk at work so she could continue to breastfeed her newborn, the suit said. In addition, this period was during the formula shortage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
When Savoca initially returned to work, teachers and students were attending school virtually because of the pandemic. Savoca was considered an essential employee and was required to be physically present at school to provide students, teachers and parents with iPads and assist them with operations and repairs for virtual learning.
Savoca asked Cazier to provide breaks to pump from 9 to 9:30 a.m. and 1 to 1:30 p.m. daily. During that time, Savoca needed her assistant to watch her students.
However, Cazier and other school administrators began requiring the assistant to perform other duties during Savoca’s breaks which interfered with Savoca’s ability to pump, the suit said. The suit alleges that Cazier retaliated against Savoca when she complained and continued to not allow her regular breaks to pump, creating a hostile working environment.
Savoca began keeping an exhaustive record of the times Cazier refused to provide her with breaks and when she accommodated other teachers’ requests, such as providing accommodations for a teacher who requested breaks when she was overwhelmed, the suit said.
The principal told Savoca to let other administrators know that she needed coverage when her assistant was reassigned. However, whenever Savoca called and emailed asking for coverage, they either didn’t respond or no coverage was sent.
Because of the lack of coverage for her class, Savoca would often not get any breaks to pump, which caused her to be in physical pain at work. She developed mastitis and high fevers and had to miss work, the suit said. In addition to the situation affecting her mental and physical health, Savoca suffered “extreme humiliation and embarrassment,” the suit said.
Savoca also claims that Cazier engaged in wrongful intrusion when she publicly exposed Savoca in her underwear to other faculty members and students when Cazier unlocked her office door while she was pumping, the suit said. Savoca was wearing a dress at the time and had to remove her dress and bra to pump.
Cazier was asked not to come into the office because Savoca was pumping, but Cazier disregarded the request, using her key to open Savoca’s office door.
Cazier left the door open so that those in the library could see Savoca in her underwear, the suit said.
Savoca is asking for a jury trial.
