Breast Milk Expression in the Workplace

Policy on the Rights of Employees to Express Breast Milk in the Workplace

Beginning June 19, 2024, Labor Law Section 206-c provides all employees with the right to paid break time to express breast milk in the workplace regardless of the size of their employer or the industry they work in. Employers are required to tell employees about their rights regarding breast milk expression by providing them the NYSDOL Policy on the Rights of Employees to Express Breast Milk in the Workplace when they start a new job and annually thereafter.

Policy on the Rights of Employees to Express Breast Milk in the Workplace (P705)

The policy is also available in an additional 16 languages.

Rights of Employees to Express Breast Milk in the Workplace

For quick reference regarding how this law impacts you as an employer or and employee, please see the fact sheets below.

Your Rights as an Employee to Express Breast Milk at Work (P690)

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Rights of Nursing Employees to Pump Breast Milk at Work - Information for Employers (P691)

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Frequently Asked Questions

For Workers

Q. Do I Have the Right to Pump Breast Milk at Work?	A: New York State Labor Law Section 206-c requires your employer to provide all employees, with paid break time to pump breast milk at work.
Q: Does this Law Cover My Employer?	A: This law applies to all public and private employers in New York State, regardless of the size or nature of their business.
Q: What If My Employer Hasn’t Told Me I Can Pump Breast Milk at Work?	A: All employers are required to inform all employees about their right to take thirty (30) minute paid breaks during the workday for the purpose of pumping breast milk. Employers are required to do this when an employee is hired, once a year after hiring, and whenever an employee returns to work following the birth of a child. Your employer must inform you of this right by providing a copy of the New York State Department of Labor Policy on Breast Milk Expression in the Workplace.
Q: Do I Have to Give My Employer Advance Notice If I Want to Pump Breast Milk at Work?	A: Yes. If you want to pump breast milk at work, you must notify your employer in advance – preferably before you return to work from maternity leave. Requests must be made in writing and should be sent to your direct supervisor. If your employer has a staff member designated to receive such requests, such as an HR Director, send your request to that individual as well.
Q: What is the best way to notify my employer of my request to express breast milk at work?	A: A request must be made in writing. Your written request can be sent through email, text message, written correspondence or any chat-based app regularly used by the organization for correspondence that allows for the retention of messages.
Q: What should I include in my written notification to my employer?	A: Your written notification should include your anticipated return to work date, as well as details regarding how many breaks you anticipate needing during the work day. If you have preferred times to express breast milk, please include that in your written notification as well.
Q: How Long After My Child Is Born Can I Pump Breast Milk at Work?	A: Employees may take 30 minute paid break time to pump breast milk at work for up to three years following the birth of a child.
Q: How Much Break Time Can I Take to Pump Breast Milk?	A: Your employer must give you 30 minutes of paid break time when you reasonably need to express breast milk. You can take shorter breaks if you chose. You may also use your regular paid break time or meal time to pump breast milk if you would like, or if you need additional time beyond 30 minutes. You can also choose to take breaks for breast milk expression right before or after your regularly scheduled meal time or paid break periods.
Q: How Often During the Workday Can I Take Breaks to Pump Breast Milk	A: Your employer must accommodate you whenever you reasonably need to take a break. The number of break times needed throughout the day will be unique to each individual employee.
Q: If I Take Breaks to Pump Breast Milk, Can My Employer Reduce the Amount of Other Break Time I Get?	A: No. If you take paid breaks to pump breast milk, your employer cannot take time away from your meal time or regular paid break time.
Q: If I Take Breaks to Pump Breast Milk, Do I Have To Make Up That Time?	A: No. You are not required to make up this time. Your employer cannot require you to stay beyond your regularly scheduled work hours because you took breaks during the work day for breast milk expression.
Q: Does My Employer Have to Pay Me for Break Time I Take to Pump Breast Milk?	A: Yes. You are entitled to paid break time up to 30 minutes when you need to express breast milk at work. If you want to, you may use your regular paid break time if you need additional time over the 30 minutes. You may also use your meal time to pump breast milk if you would like. You are entitled to as many 30 minute paid breaks as you need.
Q: Does My Employer Have to Provide a Place for Me to Pump Breast Milk?	A: Yes. Your employer must provide you with a private room or other location close to your work area where you can pump breast milk. If your employer can’t provide a dedicated lactation room, a temporarily vacant room may be used instead. As a last resort, a cubicle can be used, but it must be fully enclosed with walls at least seven feet tall. You should consult the Division of Labor Standards if your employer tells you they do not have a place for you to pump breast milk.
Q: Can That Place Be a Bathroom?	A: No. The room or location provided by your employer cannot be a restroom or toilet stall.
Q: What Does My Employer Have to Put in the Room?	A: The place where you pump breast milk must contain a chair and small table or other flat surface. The space must also include good natural or artificial light, an electrical outlet (if the workplace has electricity), and a clean water supply. If the workplace has a refrigerator, employers must allow employees to use it to store pumped milk.
Q: Does the Room Have to be Private?	A: Yes. The room or place provided by your employer cannot be open to other employees, customers, or members of the public while you are pumping breast milk. It should have a door with a functional lock, or in the case of a cubicle, a sign warning the location is in use and not accessible to others. Any windows must have curtains or other covering.
Q: What Do I Do If My Employer Isn’t Following This Law?	A: File a complaint with the New York State Department of Labor’s Division of Labor Standards. These complaints are confidential – we will not tell your employer a complaint has been filed against him or her. Call us at 1-888-52-LABOR, send us an email at [email protected], or come into the nearest Labor Standards office to personally file a complaint.
Q: What If My Employer Punishes Me for Filing a Complaint?	A: Your employer may not discriminate or retaliate in any way against you or any other employee who chooses to pump breast milk in the workplace or who files a complaint with us. If this happens, contact us immediately and let us know.
Q: Do Any Other Laws Protect My Right to Pump Breast Milk At Work?	A: Yes. The Fair Labor Standards Act, a federal law covering all 50 states, also protects your right to pump breast milk at work. In 2023, protections were expanded under the Federal PUMP Act. For more information, contact the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor at 1-866-4USWAGE or visit https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pump-at-work.

For Employers

Q: What are my responsibilities when receiving a request for breast milk expression?	A: Employers must respond to a request to express breast milk in writing within five (5) days of receiving the request. Supervisors who receive a request and do not directly handle the set up of a lactation space must forward the request to the appropriate individual. When a space is designated for breast milk expression, employers must notify all employees in writing.
Q: Can I Require Employees Make Up Break Time for Breast Milk Expression?	A: No. An employer cannot require an employee to make up the paid break time used for breast milk expression.
Q: Do I need to change an employee’s work hours to accommodate breast milk expression?	A: Employers do not need to change an employee’s work schedule. Where feasible, NYS DOL does recommend that employers allow for flexible work hours, job sharing, and/or part time scheduling to accommodate employees with children of nursing age.
Q: Do Pumping Breaks Need to be Paid?	A: Yes. Employers must pay employees for a thirty (30) minute break when an employee needs to pump breast milk. Employees have the option of using their regularly provided paid break or regular meal time to pump breast milk should they require additional time. Employers must continue to pay any customarily paid regular break time for an employee who pumps breast milk. Employers cannot require an employee to complete work tasks while expressing breast milk, however, if an employee voluntarily decides to do so, they may.
Q: Can pumping breaks be used to breast feed children onsite?	A: While not a requirement, NYS DOL recommends that employers allow employees with nursing children attending onsite day care the option to take breaks to breast feed in lieu of pumping.
Q: What are the Requirements of Employers Regarding a Place to Pump Breast Milk?	A: Employers are required to provide employees with a private room or other location close to the employee’s work area where they can pump breast milk. If the employer can’t provide a dedicated lactation room, a temporarily vacant room may be used instead. As a last resort, a cubicle can be used, but it must be fully enclosed with walls at least seven feet tall.
Q: Can Bathrooms be Used as the Employer’s Provided Space?	A: No, the room or location provided by an employer to pump breast milk cannot be a restroom or toilet stall.
Q: What Amenities Must the Lactation Room Contain?	A: The place where employees pump breast milk must contain a chair and small table or other flat surface. The space must also have good artificial or natural light, an electrical outlet (if the workplace has electricity), and access to a clean water supply. If there is a refrigerator in the workplace, employers must provide access to employees to store their expressed milk.
Q: Does the Lactation Room Have to be Private?	A: The room or place provided by the employer cannot be open to other employees, customers, or members of the public while an employee is pumping breast milk. It should have a door with a functional lock, or in the case of a cubicle, a sign warning the location is in use and not accessible to others. Any windows must have curtains or other covering.
Q: Are Discrimination and Retaliation Prohibited?	A: Yes - Employers may not discriminate or retaliate in any way against any employee who chooses to pump breast milk in the workplace or who files a complaint with the Department of Labor. The Department takes allegations of retaliation very seriously and will investigate promptly.
Q: What is the Complaint Process?	A: Any party may file a confidential complaint with the New York State Department of Labor’s Division of Labor Standards alleging non-compliance with this law.
Q: Is There a Similar Federal Law?	A: The Fair Labor Standards Act also protect the rights of employees to pump breast milk at work. In 2023, these protections were expanded under the federal PUMP Act. For more information, contact the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor at 1-866-4USWAGE or visit https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/pump-at-work.