On May 17, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued guidance for enforcing the “pump at work” provisions of the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act). The PUMP Act, which became effective in December 2022, expands the Fair Labor Standard Act’s (FLSA) protections for nursing mothers by including reasonable break times to nurse and requiring private spaces to pump. Although the guidance is aimed internally at the DOL, it shows employers how the DOL will enforce the PUMP Act provisions. Key highlights of the DOL’s guidance are discussed below.
Under the PUMP Act, employers must provide nursing employees with “reasonable break time” to express milk. According to the DOL, however, this one-size-fits-all approach is not sustainable for all nursing employees. Under the guidance, the frequency, duration, and timing of breaks under the PUMP Act will vary based on a variety of factors unique to each employee and child. The guidance also provides that an employee and employer may agree to a certain schedule based on the nursing employee’s need to pump, but cautions employers not to require an employee to adhere to a rigid, fixed pumping schedule.
The guidance provides examples of employees who may require four 25-minute breaks throughout the day, or two 30-minute breaks, but stresses that the breaks must be given “each time” the employee has to pump. Pumping schedules need to be flexible, as the need to pump may be...
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