The State Of Employment Law: More Than Half Of States Protect Lactation Breaks

In this series, we will explore some of the ways states vary from one another in their employment laws.

Over the past several years, both state and federal governments have enacted laws to protect nursing mothers' rights to pump breast milk in the workplace. Under federal law, employers must provide nursing mothers break time to express breast milk and must provide a private space other than a restroom to do so. However, break time does not need to be paid.

Over half of all states, plus the District of Columbia, also have protections in place for nursing mothers. Arkansas, California, Colorado, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee, for example, state that nursing mothers may pump during other regularly scheduled breaks. These state laws either specify that lactation breaks are unpaid or do not specify pay status, essentially leaving them unpaid.

A few states go further in their protections for nursing mothers. For example, Georgia and New York expressly provide paid lactation breaks. New York expressly provides additional time beyond existing breaks, as employees may take up to 30 minutes of paid break time each time they need to pump and may use existing break or meal time for lactation breaks that last longer than 30 minutes. Both Kentucky and Louisiana, while unpaid, provide that employees may take more frequent or longer breaks to pump than their regular break schedule allows. Illinois provides nursing mothers with more flexibility than many states, as lactation breaks need not run concurrently with existing break times.

Employers that have not already done so should consider investing in a dedicated lactation room that satisfies applicable law. To the extent a dedicated lactation room is prohibitively expensive for some employers, another private space with a lockable door that can serve part-time as a lactation room when needed will suffice. This space should be kept clean and may not be located in a restroom.