New law for nursing moms - in health care legislation

[Omaha Steve]

The new health care legislation extends the right to pump breastmilk (time and place) to moms at work. See attached FAQ sheet for more information. Please help raise awareness about this important provision for nursing mothers.



- Vibhuti



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SEC. 4207. REASONABLE BREAK TIME FOR NURSING MOTHERS.

Section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 207) is amended by adding at the end the following:

(r)(1) An employer shall provide—

(A) a reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for 1 year after the child’s birth each time such employee has need to express the milk; and

(B) a place, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from co workers and the public, which may be used by an employee to express breast milk.

(2) An employer shall not be required to compensate an employee receiving reasonable break time under paragraph (1) for any work time spent for such purpose.

(3) An employer that employs less than 50 employees shall not be subject to the requirements of this subsection, if such requirements would impose an undue hardship by causing the employer significant difficulty or expense when considered in relation to the size, financial resources, nature, or structure of the employer’s business.

(4) Nothing in this subsection shall preempt a State law that provides greater protections to employees than the protections provided for under this subsection


Vibhuti Mehra

Communications & Development Director

Labor Project for Working Families

2521 Channing Way No. 5555

Berkeley, CA 94720

Partnering with unions to put families first


Visit our online resource network LEARN WorkFamily at www.learnworkfamily.org.

[LiberalFighter]

1. Will they try to claim that it will cause undue burden to an employer?

Probably.

[tammywammy]

2. We have them at work

They just installed a room last month or so in one of the two buildings I work in (there's a lot of buildings out here, but these are two smaller buildings). It was a janitor's closet, so it's pretty large. They painted it, added a small fridge and a comfortable chair to the room as well as a handle that locks from the inside. There's a "lactation room" sign (we call them lactation stations, with a little sliding sign for "in use" "open." I know they're in other buildings as well, separate from bathrooms. In a building my mom was in (her office just moved to another building) the room had a chair and a loveseat in it.

It makes sense to have these rooms (especially since on the program I'm on there are at least two women that are pumping).

[tammywammy]

3. kick n/t