Breaks Now Required for Nursing Mothers

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got this in a human resources newsletter:

THIS WEEK’S E-TIP: Breaks Now Required for Nursing Mothers If you are like most employers, you probably have not had time to consider the many new obligations imposed in the 2,000-plus pages of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Most of the provisions that substantially change how health care will be provided in this country do not take effect for several years, beginning in 2014. But, there is one provision buried within the Act that affects almost every employer in the United States, and it took effect March 23, 2010, the date the Act was signed into law. Most employers now are required to provide employees who are new moms with breaks to express milk during the workday. Below, you will find an explanation of the new requirements, plus several reasons you should implement these breaks in your workplace even if you are not covered by the new law. (Download free Rest Breaks model policy including HR best practices and legal background here: http://www.ppspublishers.com/ez/ezdcrest.htm * New Break Requirements Explained *Specifically, employers with 50 or more employees are required to provide a nursing mother with “a reasonable break time†to express breast milk each time the employee needs to express milk for up to a year after her child’s birth. In addition, the provision requires employers to provide a place other than a bathroom that is private where the employee may express milk. The place must be “shielded from view†and “free from intrusion from coworkers and the public.†Although the Act does not define what a “reasonable†break time period is, it does indicate that an employee does not have to be paid for the time. Smaller employers with less than 50 employees are not entirely off the hook. The Act states that these employers will not be covered by the requirements if they can show that the breaks would cause an “undue hardship by causing the employer significant difficulty or expense.†An employer’s size, financial resources, nature, or structure will be considered to determine whether undue hardship exists. Again, the Act does not define “undue hardship†beyond these descriptions, but the standard appears fairly difficult to meet. Finally, the new provision also indicates that employers still must comply with any state law providing greater protections to nursing mothers. Several states, including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Vermont, and the District of Columbia, require employers to allow nursing mothers unpaid breaks to express milk during the work day.

Gail