Governor Hochul has signed legislation that will require private sector employers throughout New York State to meet new time, space and notice requirements for accommodating employees who pump breast milk in the workplace. The new law will be effective on June 7, 2023.
Specifically, pursuant to the new law, employers must provide a nursing employee with a reasonable break “each time such employee has a reasonable need” to express breast milk. Further, the legislation provides that the room or private location cannot be a restroom and must be close to the employee’s work area, shielded from other individuals’ view and free from intrusion from other employees or the public. The location must also, at a minimum:
- Contain sufficient lighting
- Have a chair
- Have an open surface
- Be close to clean running water
- Contain at least one electrical outlet
Employers with refrigerators will also be required to allow employees to use them for storing breast milk.
If an employer does not have a permanent area, the bill states that the employer must make available a particular room or other private location on a temporary basis when the need arises for an employee to express breast milk. The employer must then notify all employees when the room or location is being used for such purposes.
Employers that are unable to provide a temporary location for nursing employees because it would cause an undue hardship will be exempt for the requirements but they must still make “reasonable efforts” to provide a private area that is not a restroom in close proximity to the employee’s work area.
The new law will also require employers to adopt a policy developed by the New York State Department of Labor regarding employee rights when breastfeeding in the workplace. Employers must provide the written policy to each employee upon hire and annually thereafter, as well as to employees returning to work after the birth of a child. The New York State Department of Labor will be developing a model written policy.
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