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NEW Employer Requirement: Nursing Mothers in the Workplace
Effective March 23rd, 2010 employers will be required to provide mothers, up to a period of one year following the birth of a child, "reasonable break time" each time the mother needs to express breast milk. However, the employer is not required to pay the employee for this break time regardless of its length.
The amount of "reasonable" time or frequency of breaks was not defined in the legislation. As a result, employers will be required to employ common sense until such time that these definitions are available.
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Expert
Jesse Patton
HIA, MHP, FAHM, LUTCF, HIPAAA EHBA, PHIAS
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In addition (IMPORTANT), employers are required to provide a location for the mother to express her breast milk. This location must be a location, "other than the bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public."
Employers that are required to adhere to this provision include ALL employers with more than 50 employees; however, smaller employers are also included - provided if complying with the law would not impose "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." Unfortunately, the law does not define "undue hardship."
Some States already require an employer to provide this time as "PAID" and, in those circumstances - the law that provides greater protection will prevail.
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