Dive Brief:
- New York employers must provide employees who choose to express breast milk in the workplace with a room or other location to do so, according to a law signed into effect Dec. 9 by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
- Per the law, the location must be in close proximity to the work area, well lit, shielded from view and free from intrusion from other people in the workplace. Employers also must provide a chair, a working surface, and access to clean, running water. Access to an electrical outlet and refrigeration also must be provided if the workplace has access to these amenities.
- The room or location may not be a restroom or toilet stall. If compliance would pose an undue hardship on an employer, that employer must make reasonable efforts to provide a private space in which an employee may express breast milk, per the statute. Employers also must develop a written breastfeeding policy to be given to each employee upon hire and to those returning to work following childbirth. The law is set to take effect 180 days after enactment.
New York’s new law aims to ensure nursing mothers have access to “safe, hygienic and convenient” pumping spaces at work, Hochul said in a statement announcing the law’s signing; “By requiring employers to provide quality accommodations, this legislation will help employees feel comfortable and respected when breastfeeding.”
The state’s requirements add onto existing requirements at the federal level as mandated by the Affordable Care Act, which...
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