Breastfeeding Protections in the Workplace in the USA
How often have you heard of a mother pumping in a bathroom stall in her workplace because no other place was offered? What about a mother who found that pumping at work was so challenging that it drove her to wean before she wanted to? These difficulties and others like them should not be as common as updated workplace protections are put in place across the USA to protect a mother’s right to breastfeed.
The Fair Labor Standards Act and Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act
The FLSA and PUMP Act “requires employers to provide reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for their nursing child for one year after the child's birth each time such employee has need to express the milk.” In this Act, “employees are entitled to a place to pump at work, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public.”
The location provided for pumping must be functional as a space for expressing breast milk. If the space is not dedicated to the nursing employee’s use, it must be available when needed by the employee in order to meet the statutory requirement. A space temporarily created or converted into a space for expressing breast milk or made available when needed by the nursing employee is sufficient provided that the space is shielded from view and free from any intrusion from co-workers and the public. Workers who telework must also be free from observation by any employer-provided or required video system, including computer camera, security camera, or web conferencing platform.
Covered Employees and Compensation
Examples of employees exempt from the FLSA protection are airline workers and flight attendants. However, employees who are exempted may be entitled to break and/or space protections under State or local laws. Employers with fewer than 50 employees are not subject to the FLSA requirements if it would impose an undue hardship.
Under the FLSA, when an employee is using break time at work to express breast milk they either must be completely relieved from duty or must be paid for the break time. Also, when employers provide paid breaks, an employee who uses such break time to pump breast milk must be compensated in the same way that other employees are compensated for break time.
Remedies for Violations
Beginning April 28, 2023, an employer who violates an employee’s right to reasonable break time and space to pump breast milk will be liable for appropriate legal or equitable remedies under the FLSA. Remedies may include employment, reinstatement, promotion, and the payment of wages lost.
State Rights to Breastfeed in the Workplace
All fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands have laws that specifically allow women to breastfeed in any public or private location. Thirty-one states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands exempt breastfeeding from public indecency laws. Thirty states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have laws related to breastfeeding in the workplace. You can look up your state’s breastfeeding protections here: https://www.ncsl.org/health/breastfeeding-state-laws.
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