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Nursing mothers must be given accommodation by their employers in New York under a new law.

The law is the New York Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act, passed in 2007. New York joins several other states, including Colorado and Illinois, in passing a law protecting breastfeeding mothers who are working. The bill passed the New York general assembly almost unanimously.

Under the new law working mothers who are breastfeeding must be given a  time and place to pump milk. They are entitled to unpaid break time, and a room must be provided. The room should be private and near the work station. The law states that storage areas and bathrooms are not appropriate.

“This law is in place to make sure that nursing mothers have reasonable privacy and are treated in a respectful manner at their place of employment,” said state Labor Commissioner M. Patricia Smith. “I encourage anyone not being afforded these rights to contact the labor department at 1-800-447-3992 to speak to one of our investigators,” she added.

Under the labor law, Smith noted, any nursing mother in New York now has the right to express their breast milk in the workplace.

Women with infants and children make up one of the most significant, fast-growing segments of the workforce nationwide. The New York Department of health has said that continuing breastfeeding after going back to work is a big challenge for new mothers. Some give up nursing after returning because of the lack of privacy to express milk and because of unsupportive work environments as well as work schedules.

The New York law protects mothers during an infant’s first three years. Management may not discriminate against mothers who fall under the protection of the law.

According to the Lawyer’s Alliance for New York, employers would be well advised to include information in employee handbooks about the new rights of breastfeeding mothers.

State Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines, M.D., stressed the health benefits, both to infants and mothers, of breastfeeding, noting that such infants have less risk of contracting asthma, obesity, diabetes and other chronic illnesses. The effects carry throughout one’s lifetime, he said.

New York employers must make accommodations for nursing mothers under the New York Nursing Mothers in the Workplace Act.

The act, passed in 2007, requires employers to provide reasonable unpaid break time for a working mother to express milk. In addition, the law requires that employers permit mothers to use paid break time to express milk. The employer must provide a private room or other area, near the work state, for mothers to use to pump milk. Bathrooms and storage areas are not suitable for mothers to use, under the law.

The Lawyer’s Alliance for New York suggests that (more…)

A new Colorado law requires employers to make accommodations for nursing mothers in the workplace.

Under the new law, statute 8-13 5-104 CRS, both public and private employers must provide reasonable unpaid break time or permit an employee to use paid (more…)