Paid Breastfeeding Break Now Legally Mandated in New York State

Only a nursing mother knows the difficulties and unpredictability when it comes to breastfeeding a child or pumping for milk. New York State took a huge step Wednesday in giving legal protections in the workplace for new moms who are making the choice to feed their children the "natural way."

New York State Governor Kathy Hochul says,

As New York’s first mom Governor, I am fighting every day to give working parents the protections they need to keep their families strong and healthy. From our nation-leading prenatal leave program to this legislation requiring employers to give breastfeeding mothers much-needed break time, our state is continuing to stand up for parents in the workplace and protect maternal and child health.

Effective June 19th, 2024 employers at companies of any size are legally required to give a nursing mother a 30-minute paid break to allow them to pump breast milk. According to the governor's office, "This mandate applies whenever employees have a reasonable need to express breast milk and extends up to three years following childbirth." Under the new law, employees can also use existing paid break time or mealtime for any time in excess of thirty minutes.

Prior to this law being passed and implemented, employers were only obligated to provide unpaid breaks whenever the need arose for such expression. Now, the employer has to not only follow this law, but are required to notify a nursing mother who is employed of her right to this paid break. Employers who have questions can review the full law and guidance surrounding it at https://dol.ny.gov/breast-milk-expression-workplace.