On May 17, 2023, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued guidance for enforcement of the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act, commonly known as the PUMP Act. The PUMP Act was signed into law on December 29, 2022 and expands the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to provide nursing mothers with reasonable breaktime and a private space to pump breast milk at work. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA), which requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to an employee’s known limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, was signed into law with the PUMP Act and takes effect on June 27, 2023. Click here to review our prior alert on these laws.
The DOL’s guidance regarding enforcement of the PUMP Act is directed toward the Wage and Hour Division’s (WHD) field staff, but employers should familiarize themselves with how the DOL will be enforcing the protections afforded to nursing employees. Key takeaways from the DOL’s guidance are summarized below.
Reasonable Breaktime
Employers are required to provide nursing employees “reasonable break time” each time the employee needs to pump breast milk at work. Reasonable break time must be provided for one year after the child’s birth.
Determining what constitutes “reasonable break time” is fact dependent. The frequency, duration, and timing of breaks may vary based on several factors, including the location of the break space and the steps reasonably necessary to pump....
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