[co-author: Janna Offenberger, Law Clerk]
New Hampshire just implemented a new law that guarantees nursing mothers accommodations such as an unpaid 30-minute break to express breast milk every three hours. Effective July 1, this new state law (which follows the Federal PUMP Act of 2022) requires employers with six or more employees to establish policies that address both reasonable break periods and spaces for expressing milk. Read on for a three-step guide for employers operating in New Hampshire.
Background: Federal Law
The Federal Providing Urgent Maternal Protections (PUMP) for Nursing Mothers Act of 2022 requires employers to provide reasonable break times for their employees to express breast milk for the first year after childbirth. You can read more about that federal law here.
What does the New Hampshire Law Require?
In August 2023, New Hampshire’s then-Governor Chris Sununu signed HB 358 into effect. As a result, starting July 1, New Hampshire now guarantees nursing mothers an unpaid 30-minute break for every three hours of work to pump.
Like its federal counterpart, this law will also require employers provide nursing employees with adequate areas at work for one year after a child’s birth. Employees seeking this benefit must provide two weeks’ notice of the accommodation request.
What’s Not Included?
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