Many states have their own laws mandating that employers not discriminate against their workers who are breastfeeding. These laws say that employers must provide their female employees with a place and time to either breastfeed their infant children or express milk for their babies while at work. A federal law, part of the health care reform legislation signed by President Obama in March of 2010, makes it illegal for most employers in the country to discriminate against lactating mothers.
Federal Law
The federal law, passed as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, states that mothers in the workplace must receive adequate time and a private place to express milk for their babies. This law modifies the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.
It's important to note that this law only applies to mothers who bring breast-pumping apparatuses to work, not to mothers who are actually breastfeeding their children at the office. The law also states that employers must provide a space other than a bathroom to allow their female employees to express milk.
The law covers working women who continue to breast feed for up to one year after their children's birth.
What The Law Doesn't Say
There are some vagaries in the new law. The South Florida Sun-Sentinel newspaper, in a story written by Marcia Heroux Pounds, reports that the law doesn't define what "adequate time" is. It also doesn't define how many times each week that mothers can take breaks to express milk. The law also does not state anything about the requirements for employers to provide a place and time for mothers to breastfeed their children at work. Several state laws, though, do cover this situation.
State Laws
Several states have their own laws preventing employers from discriminating against their female employees who need to breastfeed their children while at work or who want to express milk for their infants.
The National Council of State Legislatures says that 24 states have laws forbidding employers from discriminating against women who breastfeed in the workplace. Though these laws vary, most of them state that employers must provide their employees time and a place to either breastfeed or express milk.
California And Illinois
Two states with typical labor laws forbidding discrimination against breastfeeding mothers include California and Illinois.
In California, for example, employers must provide adequate facilities for breastfeeding and expressing milk. Illinois has the Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act, which requires employers to provide reasonable, unpaid break time for nursing mothers. The law also states that employers must provide a private place other than a bathroom stall for nursing mothers.
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico has its own labor laws protecting nursing mothers. According to the country's statutes, employers must provide breastfeeding mothers with the chance to nurse their infants for half-an-hour during the work day. Mothers are allowed to continue breastfeeding their children at work for a maximum of 12 months. Puerto Rico has even declared August to be Breastfeeding Awareness Month in the country.
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