In plain words
The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act is a federal law passed in December 2022. It amends the and extends the federal pumping-break rule to most employees, not only hourly workers. It covers a nursing parent for the first year after the baby is born. The employer must provide a private place, shielded from view and free from intrusion, that is not a bathroom. Many states, including California, have their own rules, and some are stronger. The rules that apply to you depend on your state and your job. A state labor office or your employer's human resources team can tell you which rules apply to your work.
The deeper version
The PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, enacted in December 2022, amends section 7 of the Fair Labor Standards Act by revising subsection 7(r), which governs lactation breaks. It requires covered employers to give reasonable break time to express breast milk for one year after a child's birth, and a space other than a bathroom, shielded from view and free from intrusion. The 2022 amendment extended coverage to salaried, exempt employees, a change from the 2010 provision, and added enforcement remedies. Federal law sets a floor, and many states provide more. Evidence that workplace pumping supports longer breastfeeding is largely observational, so the policy case rests partly on breastfeeding-duration studies and partly on equity.
Where it comes up
- Returning to work and pumpingFeeding Your Baby
- Lactation accommodation at work: your rights in CaliforniaCalifornia: Leave, Money, and Paperwork
- Breastfeeding in public and your rightsFeeding Your Baby
- Choosing a pump (and getting it through insurance)Feeding Your Baby
What mothers here say about PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act
No one has posted under this term yet.
Sources
- U.S. Congress — PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act, enacted December 2022, amending Fair Labor Standards Act section 7(r)
- U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division — Fact Sheet #73: Break Time for Nursing Mothers under the FLSA