Mendy Mattingly, Esq.

SDCBC, Board of Director and Attorney at Law

 

Many women are well aware of the Federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act (“PDA”), an amendment to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.¹  The PDA requires that employees who are temporarily and medically disabled by pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions be treated the same as employees temporarily and medically disabled by other non-work-related conditions or injuries.  That is, an employer who provides a certain length of leave of absence for non-work-related injuries must provide similar leaves to pregnant women.  Many states have also enacted laws that may broaden this requirement. 

Unfortunately, most federal courts have held that employers’ denial of personal leave for the purposes of breastfeeding (most likely exclusive breastfeeding) does not violate the PDA.²  Under limited circumstances, employees who are eligible may use leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act for purposes such as bonding with the newborn which allows initial time to breastfeed.  However, this time period is relatively short – a maximum of 12 workweeks.  Although there is no federal law requiring employers to accommodate a mother’s need for lactation breaks and the majority of courts have found that the federal PDA does not provide leave or other protection for breastfeeding, some states do have laws that provide accommodations for breastfeeding mothers, including California.³

California Lactation Break Accommodation California Labor Code Sections 1030–1033 require private and public employers to provide a reasonable amount of break time to accommodate an employee desiring to express milk for the employee’s infant child.  Most employees are afforded a paid ten-minute break for every four hours worked and therefore the lactation break time shall, if possible, run concurrently with any break time already provided to the employee.  Any additional time necessary that does not run concurrently with already provided break may be requested but is unpaid.  If, however, providing additional time would seriously disrupt the employer’s operations then the employer is not required to provide that additional time.  Employers must also make reasonable efforts to provide breastfeeding mothers with a private location, other than a toilet stall, in close proximity to the mother’s work area for her to express milk.  If an employer does not provide these accommodations to the mother, California’s statute provides a $100 civil penalty for each violation. ⁴ Mothers can best resolve any situations by first talking with their employer, most likely someone in Human Resources department.  If there are still issues, the

California Labor Commissioner has the authority to inspect, investigate, and enforce these provisions.

Breastfeeding, the Workplace, and the Law

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