All employers, including state and local government agencies, will have to accommodate nursing mothers’ needs at work under a new law Gov. Davis has signed. A.B. 1025 takes effect Jan. 1, 2002.
Meeting Breastfeeding Workers’ Needs
Under this new measure, you must provide a reasonable amount of break time to accommodate an employee who desires to express, or pump, breast milk for her infant child. The break time should occur during her usual paid break or rest time. If the woman needs more time or another break at a different point in the workday, the additional time may be unpaid for nonexempt employees. Note that you don’t have to provide extra break time for expressing milk if it would seriously disrupt your operations.
To allow a nursing mother to express milk in private, you must make reasonable efforts to furnish her with a location that’s close to her work area. This could be the employee’s usual workspace if it would permit sufficient privacy. The law specifically states that you cannot require the employee to use a toilet stall. Violating the law carries a $100 penalty.
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Questions Remain
The new law leaves a number of important questions unanswered, including how frequently you must permit a nursing mother to pump milk during the workday and whether you can require the woman to adhere to a specific schedule for expressing milk. And it’s unclear at what point an accommodation could be said to seriously disrupt your operations. What’s more, the bill doesn’t specify just how private the location you provide must be. For example, it doesn’t indicate whether a spot where other women, but not men, might come and go would satisfy your obligation.
What To Do Now
While these issues are being worked out—either by the Legislature or the Labor Commissioner—the most sensible route is to suggest that an employee who asks to express milk at work coordinate that time with her existing breaks. If that won’t work, consult with the employee to find a suitable schedule that meets your needs and the employee’s. Be sure to thoroughly document your accommodation efforts. Also, if a nonexempt employee takes more than her allotted break time to express milk, have her carefully keep track of those minutes. You may want to require a worker who requests extra break time to express breast milk to confirm in writing that she is breastfeeding and will use the time at work to pump milk.