A new mom shared the disturbing experience of discovering a surveillance camera in a room at work reserved for pumping breastmilk.
Ari Vassallo posted a TikTok video showing the new mother with her hand on her face as she revealed the camera mounted to the ceiling.
‘Me just realizing the room I was told to pump in has a camera,’ she wrote in the clip.
The nine-second video went viral, attracting more than 15 million views as of Sunday, and ignited a heated discussion about the discrepancies between legal protections and workplace practices.
Dozens of TikTok users expressed outrage in the comment section, encouraging Vassallo to take legal action.
In a follow-up video, the New York employee outlined the legal framework designed to protect breastfeeding mothers in the state.
Vassallo meticulously detailed a New York labor law that mandates employers provide a private space for pumping, separate from restrooms, and equip with necessary amenities like a chair, table, electrical outlet, and access to water.
The law also guarantees 30 minutes of paid break time for milk expression, in addition to meal breaks, and unlimited pumping breaks as needed, up to three years after giving birth.
Her discovery of the hidden camera violated the core principle of privacy discussed in the law.
‘The space cannot be open to other employees, customers, or members of the public while you are using it to express milk,’ Vassallo emphasized.
She further contrasted the American workplace with those in other countries, where dedicated maternity spaces with comfortable amenities are commonplace.
‘I have coworkers who are from other countries that literally say that. Like, they have cushions and, like, couches. Like, there’s multiple areas inside public spaces and inside work spaces where it’s like, okay, woman’s restroom,’ she said.
‘And then there’s another wing that goes towards a maternity space. So it’s, like, where people need to change their children or to nurse their children or to pump.’
She concluded her follow-up video on a note of exasperation.
‘It’s very demeaning and it’s very humiliating. And it’s, like, so tone deaf.’
She also issued a call to action, urging mothers to understand and enforce the law and to demand respectful and supportive workplaces.
‘Girl you’re in NYS. You literally have one of the best governors right now. And NYS laws protect woman, file a lawsuit,’ one user commented.
‘”Space that allows for privacy” means a camera is fully illegal,’ another added.
While Vasallo did not explicitly say she was taking legal action, she did respond in the comment section of her follow up video.
‘ITS BEING TAKEN CAREEE OF YALL,’ she wrote.