In a new lawsuit, a former employee of Tidal—the subscription music service and artist-owned coalition founded by Jay Z, Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Madonna, Kanye West, Arcade Fire, Chris Martin, Rihanna, Jack White and more—is accusing the company of gender and pregnancy discrimination, alleging she was fired the day after requesting a breast-pumping room.
According to plaintiff Lisette Paulson, she began to clash with management after returning to Tidal as a full-time employee in September 2015 after having her baby. The complaint alleges that Paulson sat down with Tidal Chief Operating Officer Deiree Perez to discuss postpartum needs, such as occasionally working from home, salary, the area where she’d be sitting at work, and a private room for breast-pumping. The complaint states that Perez asked Paulson if she could pump in the bathroom and said that she would not be able to use a private office. “In fact,” according to the complaint, “Defendant Perez pressed the Plaintiff by asking her if she “had to do this?”
Paulson claims that Perez ended the meeting by saying she’d brainstorm with “human resources and figure it out.” The next day during a team meeting, Paulson was told by fellow defendant Chief Financial Officer Joe Burrino to leave the room because she had—to his knowledge—been fired.
Jezebel has reached out to Tidal for comment and will update if and when they respond.