New guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) answers some questions employers might have about complying with break time and space requirements under the federal Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers (PUMP) Act.
In 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act amended the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to mandate reasonable break times and space requirements for nursing employees to pump at work. This applied only to nonexempt employees. On Dec. 29, 2022, the PUMP Act was signed into law, extending lactation protections to exempt workers, covering about 9 million employees who were not previously covered, according to the DOL. The law doesn't cover certain workers in the transportation industry.
The federal guidance includes specific examples to illustrate reasonable break times, prohibited retaliation and compensation due to nonexempt workers who took a lactation break.
Under the FLSA, employers cannot retaliate against workers for exercising their lactation rights or filing a complaint about a legal violation. Companies with fewer than 50 employees can be exempt from the PUMP Act's provisions if they demonstrate compliance would impose an undue hardship.
"Proving undue hardship is a tall order and not to be used as a defense lightly," said Alexis James, an attorney with Hall Benefits Law in Calabasas, Calif.
If an employer violates the law, remedies may include reinstatement, promotion, payment of wages lost, liquidated damages and...
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