Skating coach sues Penguins, alleges she was fired for needing breaks to pump breast milk

The Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday denied claims in a federal lawsuit alleging that a former youth skating coach was fired because of her need to take breaks to pump breast milk for her newborn child.

Angela Gubala, who coordinated introductory and children’s skating programs at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry from 2015 until September of last year, is suing her former employer for a purported “pattern of discrimination” related to her being a woman with a young child, attorneys for Gubala argue in a complaint filed Friday in the U.S. District Court of Western Pennsylvania.

The Bridgeville woman’s civil rights lawsuit cites alleged violations of the Constitution and labor laws by the Lemieux Group, which includes the Penguins and Community Rink Operating GP, an affiliate that co-runs the Butler County ice rink.

The lawsuit claims that supervisors discriminated and retaliated against Gubala for nearly a year prior to her “unlawful termination,” starting with her return to work from maternity leave. The alleged discriminatory treatment extended to supervisors, human resource managers and other employees, the lawsuit says.

“Do you want to coach or do you want to pump?” a human resources representative said to Gubala on one occasion, according to the lawsuit.

Gubala was fired Sept. 13 for “alleged poor performance.”

Penguins ‘confident’ lawsuit claims are ‘untrue’

When asked to respond to Gubala’s lawsuit alleging wrongful termination, Tracey McCants Lewis, deputy general counsel and director of human resources for the Penguins, said, “This was an ongoing performance-related issue.”

“We are reviewing the complaint and are confident that these allegations will be found to be untrue,” McCants Lewis said Monday in a statement.

Penguins officials denied claims that Gubala’s dismissal was related to any forms of discrimination.

“We are committed to providing a workplace where all individuals are respected and given a full and fair opportunity to succeed,” McCants Lewis said. “That has always been the case here.”

Gubala is represented by attorneys affiliated with the Law Offices of Joel Sansone in Downtown Pittsburgh. Neither she nor an attorney for the law firm could be reached late Monday.

‘It is what it is’

According to the lawsuit, after having a baby, Gubala returned to work in September 2018.

She told supervisors that she was nursing and would need to pump twice per day.

Initially, supervisors said they would allow Gubala two, 15-minute breaks to do so per shift and gave her a list of employees to contact to cover her duties, according to the lawsuit.

Gubala found it difficult to reach fellow employees to cover her duties during the breaks. Often, they refused or ignored her, sometimes blatantly hanging up on her, the lawsuit says.

Gubala began asking for help under the guise of a “lunch break” because she believed that employees would be more willing to allow (her) to eat lunch rather than pump breast milk,” the lawsuit says.

The complex had no designated place for pumping breast milk, the lawsuit says. She’d often do so inside a shower or bathroom stall, sometimes using a trash bin lid as a makeshift table for the pump.

When Gubala alerted supervisors to the hindrances, they did nothing, then began reprimanding her, the lawsuit alleges.

“It is what it is,” one supervisor told her in response, according to the lawsuit.

Gubala faced a higher degree of scrutiny “as a direct result of her need to pump breast milk,” the lawsuit says. In April, Gubala received a written warning, which the lawsuit claims “contained many false accusations, which (Gubala) was able to disprove.”

What’s more, Gubala’s termination letter made reference to dismissing her “in part because (she) could not find sufficient child care on short-term notice in order to work overtime hours,” the lawsuit says.

A copy of the letter was not immediately available.

In October, Gubala lodged a discrimination and retaliation charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. On Feb. 5, the federal commission issued a “right to sue” notice.

With the newly filed federal lawsuit, Gubala is seeking to be paid compensatory and punitive damages, including lost wages, mental and physical distress, loss of reputation and legal fees. She also wants to return to work at the Cranberry rink in the same role or a similar position.