

Breaks for Expression of Breast Milk

January 14, 2019 • April Mabry


Q: How much time are districts required to provide for an employee to express breast milk?

A: Employers are required by state and federal law to provide reasonable break time for an employee to express breast milk each time the employee has need to do so.

Employers also are required to provide a place, other than a bathroom, that’s shielded from view and free from intrusion from coworkers and the public, which employees can use to express breast milk.

Statute does not define “reasonable.” The burden of challenging how much time an employee needs for such a purpose (e.g., frequency and length of time) would be on the employer.

The following resources may assist the district with determining what is reasonable. These websites provide suggested pumping schedules for working mothers. These resources support the concept that a nursing mother can establish a schedule different from the feeding schedule of the child.


Tagged: Benefits, "Employment law", "Fair Labor Standards Act", FLSA, "Wage and hour"