
Breastfeed at work: KFC worker wins $90K for discrimination
Australia’s largest KFC franchisor has been ordered to pay a Canberra worker $90,000 for failing to accommodate her breastfeeding at work. The ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal found Southern Restaurants Group had discriminated against the worker based on her need to breastfeed at work.
This is believed to be the first ruling in Australia for discrimination based on breastfeeding, which became a protected workplace attribute under federal law in 2023. Southern Restaurants failed to accommodate her needs for a private space to express milk at work.
It forced her to pitch a makeshift “tent” in a storeroom, where other staff frequently entered unannounced. She was also told that she could breastfeed in the toilet.
In this article, we’ll look at the shocking events of this ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal case – Complainant 202258 v Southern Restaurants (VIC) Pty Ltd (Discrimination) [2023]. We’ll also look at a remarkably similar case from the US involving a KFC worker who won over two million dollars after facing discrimination for breastfeeding at work.
Canberra KFC manager discriminated against for breastfeeding at work
The complainant was a woman in her early twenties who began working for KFC in 2015 as 14-year-old. Four years later, she was promoted to assistant manager, working across several KFC stores in the Canberra area.
At the time of her resignation in November 2022, the complainant had been working at the KFC in Tuggeranong. She was employed by Australian company Southern Restaurants Group, which runs multiple KFC and other fast-food stores across the nation.
In June 2021 the complainant birthed a daughter. After a few months of parental leave, she was considering her return to work. She asked the Tuggeranong store if it could provide her flexible working conditions so she could express milk. The store manager told her that the “big bosses” had said her request was “not ideal.”

Worker told to ‘ask other mothers how they managed’ how to breastfeed at work
The complainant then had a meeting with several Southern Restaurants managers at its head office. They asked her if she could express milk outside of her shifts. The complainant said she “felt obliged to provide an in-depth explanation as to how milk supply works.” She explained that she produced milk in alignment with her daughter’s feeding schedule.
The managers told her to ask “ask other mothers” employed by Southern Restaurants “how they managed their breastfeeding responsibilities around their work commitments.” They also suggested to the complainant that she work at the store as a casual to better accommodate her breastfeeding at work.
Requested facilities to breastfeed at work
After this meeting, the KFC area manager told the complainant that she could only return to work with the same flexible conditions that she had when she went on parental leave. This prompted the complainant to write a letter to the chief people officer of Southern Restaurants.
In the letter, she made several requests to accommodate her breastfeeding. This included access to a private and sanitary room with a comfortable chair and a fridge to store milk. She also requested to be allowed time to express milk and have access to wash facilities.
The complainant said that if the company could not satisfy these requests, she should be allowed to express milk in a nearby mall, where there was a parent’s room.
Allowing privacy also minimises the risk of the complainant being sexually harassed as she tried to feed her child.
Worker had panic attacks after requests denied
Southern Restaurants said it could not provide the private room and chair as it was “not practical and too costly to accommodate.” The company, however, said it could provide her with a fridge to store her milk and the use of a wash sink. It also suggested that she transition to casual employment, which would have been a demotion.
After having her requests knocked back, the complainant began “experiencing panic attacks,” according to Tribunal records. The stress made it so she had “difficulty sleeping and difficulty consuming anything other than coffee.” She subsequently made a general protections claim with the Fair Work Commission.

Told to express milk in tent and toilet
After months of back and forths with head office, the complainant was given a return to work plan. She was told that she could not leave the store during meal breaks. This was because she was the assistant manager and had to be onsite to ensure legal work health and safety obligations for staff.
As an alternative, the store agreed to provide a pop-up tent located in the back storeroom, with a foldout chair. However, when she turned up for her first shift, the complainant found that there was no tent or chair in the storeroom. She contacted head office, and arrangements were made to deliver the equipment the next day.
The complainant was tasked with setting up the tent herself. When she did, she had “immediate concerns.” She said that she felt “uncomfortable and cramped” in the tent and that the storeroom was not private, as it did not have a door. She said that “any staff member would be able to walk in at any time.” She also said the walls of the storeroom were thin. This meant that coworkers outside could hear her expressing milk.
An entirely dehumanising experience. Particularly at KFC stores often hire younger staff members who have not been as exposed to discrimination or sexual harassment laws.
Rather than a tent, the Tribunal labelled it as a “smallish tentlike cover provided for a camping toilet.” The complainant raised these issues with head office. They said that she could not leave the store to access the nearby parents’ room. A female manager of Southern Restaurants suggested to her that she could use the toilet to express milk. The manager said that was what she had done after returning to work following childbirth.
Read More: Discrimination Against Women

‘Significant power imbalance:’ Tribunal slammed employer
The complainant’s general protections claim was heard by the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal in September 2023. She argued that she had faced discrimination based on a protected attribute. Under the federal Fair Work Act 2009, breastfeeding is considered a protected attribute. It is also protected in the workplace under the federal Sex Discrimination Act 1984 and ACT law.
The Tribunal labelled the discrimination the complainant faced as “gendered.” It noted the “significant power imbalance” between her, a “young, inexperiened… first-time mother,” and Southern Restaurants.
‘Not a reasonable response to the needs of a modern workforce’
The Tribunal noted that the complainant had to assemble the tent herself each time she used it, and her employer made no effort to install a door for privacy. Furthermore, she was questioned by two senior male managers about her breastfeeding requirements in an “invasive” manner.
It also found that her directive not to leave the store was “not a reasonable response to the needs of a modern workforce.” The Tribunal noted the absurdity of Southern Restaurants’ position, as the company argued she could not leave due to workplace health and safety obligations.
“The Tribunal questions how an employee half-undressed, on a chair, in a tent could be a responsive manager in any emergency in any case,” it said.
‘Cannot get that time back’
The Tribunal highlighted that the complainant “was obliged to engage in a continuous battle” with Southern Restaurants. And that she had to do this “instead of enjoying adjusting to her life as a mother.” It said that she “cannot get that time back.”
The Tribunal ruled that Southern Restaurants discriminated against the complainant by “imposing upon her a term and condition of employment…that unreasonably disadvantaged her because she was breastfeeding.” The company was found to have violated the ACT’s Discrimination Act 1991.
Worker handed huge discrimination payout
In December 2024, Southern Restaurants was ordered to pay the complainant $80,000 in general damanges. It also had to pay her $10,000 to cover the cost of a year’s mental health treatment.
The Tribunal also directed Southern Restaurants Group to review its policies regarding breastfeeding accommodations. It was ordered to introduce training for all levels of management to ensure compliance with anti-discrimination and industrial relations legislation.
US KFC worker denied opportunity to breastfeed at work wins $2.1M

A very similar case of a worker who was denied their right to breastfeed at work made headlines back in 2019. Autumn Lampkins, who worked at a KFC restaurant in the US state of Delaware, filed a lawsuit against the fast-food giant. She alleged that KFC had discriminated against her by demoting her due to her need to express breast milk at work.
Ms Lampkins claimed that KFC made it extremely difficult for her to pump breast milk. This caused her milk supply to dry up, which affected her ability to breastfeed her child. She said that she hardly ever had privacy to express milk at work due to windows and CCTV cameras.
Told to breastfeed at work would be fine, turned out not to be true
Ms Lampkins started working at two KFC stores in 2014 as an assistant manager, a few months after having her child. Before starting, she was told that the job would not affect her need to express breastmilk. However, when she began working at KFC, she was required to attend 10-hour training sessions with only a single break.
In her lawsuit, Ms Lampkins alleged that she was only allowed to pump breastmilk once per day. She had been recommended by a doctor to do so every two hours. At first, Ms Lampkins was provided with a single-stall restroom for pumping. Later, she was instructed to use the manager’s office. This office was monitored by a CCTV camera that could not be turned off.
Coworkers complained about her breastfeeding at work
After she had completed her training, Ms Lampkins was transferred to another KFC restaurant. She was subsequently demoted to the position of shift supervisor. She also faced hostility from co-workers, who complained that she was receiving additional “breaks” to pump breast milk.
In her lawsuit, Ms Lampkins argued that the conditions imposed by KFC constituted workplace discrimination. She argued this based on the lack of adequate accommodations for her to breastfeed at work. Her legal team also cited the negative treatment she received from her colleagues. They said this amounted to gender-based discrimination and harassment.

Jury hands worker huge sex discrimination payout
In February 2019, a Delaware jury ruled in favour of Ms Lampkins’ claims of gender discrimination and harassment. The jury awarded her US$2.1 million (over AU$3.3 million) in punitive damages. It also awarded her more than US$35,000 in compensatory damages.
“The jury sent a message that employers cannot treat lactating women differently in the workplace,” Ms Lampkins’ lawyer said. “It was a great and long-fought victory.”
Legal representatives for the KFC franchise did not provide a response to media inquiries following the ruling.
Discrimination at work can take many forms. Under Australian law, it is unlawful for your employer to discriminate against you based on a protected characteristic. This can include your race, sexuality, the need to breastfeed at work or religion, amongst other protected characteristics.
Have you Faced Discrimination at Work?
If you feel you have faced discrimination, our team at Sexual Harassment Australia can help. We can help you lodge a general protections claim with the Fair Work Commission. By lodging this claim, you can take the first step to potentially win compensation for your suffering. And you can also hold your employer to account and make them pay for unlawfully discriminating against you.
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