Five years after New York City began requiring employers to provide accommodations for employees expressing breast milk at work and adopt lactation accommodation policies with very specific provisions, New York State has added its own law on the subject. The state law, which took effect June 7, 2023, imposes a new layer of requirements that impact even the most scrupulous of New York City employers. Both the state and city laws are more expansive than, but operate within the context of, a nationwide requirement that employers provide reasonable break time and a private place other than a bathroom in which a nursing employee can express breast milk.
Requirements with Regard to Break Time
Federal law requires employers to provide breaks to employees to express breast milk for the first year after childbirth, at regular intervals and on a schedule that is flexible enough to accommodate the employee’s varying pumping needs over time. Employees working remotely are similarly entitled to this break time to express breast milk in their homes. The breaks generally need not be compensated unless the employee is not completely relieved of duty, the breaks are for less than 20 minutes, or the employer otherwise provides paid break time.
New York State builds on these requirements in several respects. First, employees are entitled to accommodation for up to three years after childbirth under the state law (New York City law has no defined end date to the accommodation). Second, a...
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