Nursing Room Requirements At Work

Lactation rooms should not be in or accessed through bathrooms locker rooms or similar facilities but should be distinct rooms.

Nursing room requirements at work. The business case for breastfeeding recommends that at a minimum employers provide a safe and private space with a chair and a small table or shelf to set the breast pump on. 111 148 known as the affordable care act amended section 7 of the fair labor standards act flsa to require employers to provide reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk for her nursing child for one year after the child s birth each time such employee has need to express the milk. Supporting nursing moms at work. If the space cannot accommodate all mothers when they need it the employer is not meeting the requirements of the law.

Guide for establishing a federal nursing mother s program. Requirements these rooms should provide access to electricity for the use of a breast pump as well as good lighting a comfortable temperature and proper ventilation. Cdc healthier worksite initiative workplace lactation support program toolkit. A lactation room is a private space where employees who are nursing mothers can pump breast milk.

A lactation room cannot be a bathroom while it affords privacy toilet areas are not sanitary. The need for nursing or lactation rooms came about because new moms needed a private safe and clean place to express breast milk while at work. These accommodations include time for women to express milk and a private space that is not a bathroom each time they need to pump. A mother s room at work is not a bathroom.

Before examining what makes a good nursing room it s important to understand what a nursing room is not. Bathrooms are not sanitary and don t have the same level of privacy that a nursing room should have. About the law the patient protection and affordable care act p l. Additional guidance is provided by the office of personnel management opm and the department of labor dol.

Lactation rooms promote the health of the mother and baby through continued nursing. Federal law protects the right of employees to have a private space to pump and reasonable breaks to accommodate the time necessary to pump. The department seeks information and comments for its review as it considers how best to help employers and employees understand the requirements of the law. Tips for designing a lactation room.

The federal break time for nursing mothers law requires employers covered by the fair labor standards act flsa to provide basic accommodations for breastfeeding mothers at work.