The PUMP Act ensures that almost every nursing worker now has the right to break time and a private space to express breast milk for their nursing child.
Tools for Employers
The Fair Labor Standards Act, amended with the passage of the PUMP Act at the end of 2022, now requires businesses to provide accommodations to lactating employees who wish to express their milk while at work. To assist employers in supporting lactating employees, the nonprofit Center for Health Equity, Education, and Research (CHEER) has designed a free Mississippi-specific Toolkit with simple solutions for businesses. The Mississippi WINS (Workplaces Improving Nursing Support) Employer Guide highlights legal requirements, including updates from the new PUMP Act, the benefits of supporting lactating employees, and solutions for implementing accommodations in the workplace.
BUSINESS CASE FOR BREASTFEEDING
Resources for managers and staff involved in implementing Worksite Lactation Support Initiatives. Produced by the HHS Maternal and Child Health Bureau.
Workplace Support in Federal Law
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires employers to provide reasonable break time for employees to express breast milk for their nursing child for one year after the child's birth each time such employees have need to express milk. Employees are entitled to a place to pump at work, other than a bathroom, that is shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public. Break Time for Nursing Mothers, Department of Labor.
Mississippi BREASTFEEDING LAW
The Mississippi Breastfeeding Law, established through Senate Bill 2419 in 2006, promotes breastfeeding-friendly workplaces by prohibiting employers from restricting employees from expressing breast milk during meal or break periods. Federal law requires employers to adhere to state laws if they provide greater protection than the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provisions. The National Conference of State Legislatures maintains an updated list of state regulations on breastfeeding support.
Coverage and Compensation
As of December 29, 2022, nearly all FLSA-covered employees have the right to take needed time and to access an appropriate space to express breast milk for a nursing child for up to one year after the child’s birth. For more information about FLSA coverage, see Fact Sheet #14. Certain employees of airlines, railroads, and motorcoach carriers are exempt from nursing employee protections under the FLSA. Employees who are exempted may be entitled to break and/or space protections under State or local laws.
Employers with fewer than 50 employees are not subject to the FLSA break time requirement if compliance with the provision would impose an undue hardship. Whether compliance would be an undue hardship is determined by looking at the difficulty or expense of compliance for a specific employer in comparison to the size, financial resources, nature, and structure of the employer’s business. All employees who work for the covered employer, regardless of work site, are counted when determining whether this exemption may apply.
Employers are not required under the FLSA to compensate nursing mothers for breaks taken for the purpose of expressing milk. However, where employers already provide compensated breaks, an employee who uses that break time to express milk must be compensated in the same way that other employees are compensated for break time. In addition, the FLSA’s general requirement that the employee must be completely relieved from duty or else the time must be compensated as work time applies. See WHD Fact Sheet #22, Hours Worked under the FLSA.
How to File a Complaint
Frequently Asked Questions - Pumping Breast Milk at Work
Employers with fewer than 50 employees are not subject to the FLSA break time requirement if compliance with the provision would impose an undue hardship. Whether compliance would be an undue hardship is determined by looking at the difficulty or expense of compliance for a specific employer in comparison to the size, financial resources, nature, and structure of the employer’s business. All employees who work for the covered employer, regardless of work site, are counted when determining whether this exemption may apply.
Employers are not required under the FLSA to compensate nursing mothers for breaks taken for the purpose of expressing milk. However, where employers already provide compensated breaks, an employee who uses that break time to express milk must be compensated in the same way that other employees are compensated for break time. In addition, the FLSA’s general requirement that the employee must be completely relieved from duty or else the time must be compensated as work time applies. See WHD Fact Sheet #22, Hours Worked under the FLSA.
How to File a Complaint
Frequently Asked Questions - Pumping Breast Milk at Work
