She asked for pump breaks. Petco said "absolutely." Her lawsuit says what happened next
A former Petco veterinarian says the company let a pregnancy-based hostile workplace fester, then fired her one day after she pushed back over lactation breaks.
The lawsuit, Varon v. Petco Animal Supplies Stores, Inc., No. 4:26-cv-00111, was filed April 28, 2026 in the US District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. The plaintiff, Dr. Nicole Varon, says she joined Petco in July 2021, was promoted to Hospital Medical Leader in September 2023, and was tapped as a mentor in the company's PACKS Mentorship Program for new veterinary graduates. By her account, she was a top performer and her team won an Epic Achievers Award in 2024.
Things changed, the filing says, after she became pregnant in August 2024 and a new veterinary technician — described in the suit as a close personal friend of the area medical director — joined the clinic. Beginning in November 2024, Varon alleges, the technician made a string of vulgar and pregnancy-focused comments. According to the filing, the technician referred to ultrasound images of Varon's unborn child as "baby porn," repeatedly asked, "Is your hole dirty?" while Varon was at her desk, and made remarks comparing Varon's pregnant body to that of another pregnant doctor. Varon, who says she has a history of an eating disorder, told managers the body comments were especially harmful.
She and other employees reported the conduct, the suit says. A human resources representative agreed the comments were "wildly inappropriate" and "vulgar," and said she hoped to resolve the matter within two weeks. Varon alleges the investigation instead stretched across her maternity leave. By the time she returned, several colleagues who had reported the technician — including the office manager and a top-performing assistant — were gone, and the technician was still there.
The lactation allegations are where HR leaders may want to lean in. On June 24, 2025, Varon says she asked for specific pumping breaks. On July 3, the area medical director replied, "Absolutely." But when she returned to work on July 10, her schedule was booked through those break times, with no lunch, and she was directed to pump in a wellness room used to isolate sick animals and euthanize pets. Her equipment, she says, attracted animal fur, and she was the only veterinarian on site while attached to the pump. She also alleges Petco's own lactation policy called for the break room with privacy measures.
The next day, July 11, 2025, she was fired. The reason given, she says, was "theft of services" — roughly $36 for routine testing on her own dog during leave, testing she understood to be free for staff and that the area medical director had previously said did not need to be charged. The suit argues that rationale was a cover, pointing out that Petco had moved through full progressive discipline before acting on a prior veterinarian accused of mistreating animals.
The case brings claims under Title VII, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, and the FLSA as amended by the PUMP Act. The allegations have not been tested in court. Petco has not yet filed a response, and no court has ruled.
